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Sciences 
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23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  S73-4503 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHJVi/ICiVIH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this 
copy  which  may  be  bibliographicaily  unique, 
which  may  alter  any  of  the  images  in  the 
reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


□    Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 


I      I    Covers  damaged/ 


D 


D 


D 
D 


D 


D 


Couverture  endommagie 


Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaurie  9t/ou  pellicul^e 


I      I    Cover  title  missing/ 


Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 


I      I    Coloured  maps/ 


Cartes  gdographiques  en  couleur 


Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 


I      I    Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 


Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 

Bound  with  other  material/ 
Relii  avec  d'autres  documents 

Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
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mais,  lorsque  cela  6tait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  6t6  filmies. 

Additional  commots:/ 
Commentaires  suppldmentaires: 


L'Institut  a  microfilm*  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  iti  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details 
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point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  methods  normale  de  filmage 
sont  indiqu6s  ci-dessous. 


r~n   Coloured  pages/ 


n 


Pages  de  couleur 

Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommagies 

Pages  restored  and/oi 

Pages  restauries  et/ou  pelliculies 

Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxei 
Pages  ddcolordes,  tachet^es  ou  piqudes 


I     I    Pages  damaged/ 

r~~|    Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 

r~|    Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 


□    Pages  detached/ 
Pages  d6tach6es 

EShowthrough/ 
Transparence 

I      I    Quality  of  print  varies/ 


Quality  inigale  de  I'impression 

Includes  supplementary  material/ 
Comprend  du  materiel  supplimentaire 

Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Edition  disponible 


Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
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ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partiellement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une  pelure, 
etc.,  ont  6ti  fiimdes  i  nouveau  de  faqon  d 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  film*  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqui  ci-dessous. 


10X 

14X 

18X 

22X 

26X 

30X 

s/ 

12X 

16X 

20X 

24X 

28X 

32X 

e 

6tails 
IS  du 
lodifier 
T  une 
Image 


IS 


The  copy  filmed  here  has  been  reproduced  thanks 
to  the  generosity  of: 

Library  of  the  Public 
Archives  of  Canada 

The  images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  in  iteeping  with  the 
filming  contract  specifications. 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  Impres- 
sion, or  the  bacic  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  Illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  — ^-  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 

Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc..  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  In  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


L'exemplaire  f  ilm6  f  ut  reproduit  grice  A  la 
g4n«rosltA  de: 

La  bibliothdque  des  Archives 
publiques  du  Canada 

Las  Images  suivantes  ont  AtA  reproduces  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin.  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  at 
de  la  nettet*  de  l'exemplaire  film*,  et  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 

Les  exemplaires  orlglnaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  Imprim6e  sont  fllmte  en  commenpant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
dernlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impresslon  ou  d'illustratlon,  solt  par  le  second 
plat,  salon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
orlglnaux  sont  fllmte  en  commenpant  par  la 
premiere  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impresslon  ou  d'illustratlon  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaTtra  sur  la 
dernlAre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbols  —^  signifle  "A  SUIVRE",  le 
symbols  y  signifle  "FIN". 

Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  §tre 
fllmte  d  des  taux  de  reduction  diffirents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  Atre 
reproduit  en  un  seui  ciichi,  il  est  film*  d  partir 
de  Tangle  sup6rieur  gauche,  de  gauche  d  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'Images  n6cessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
lllustrent  la  mithode. 


}rrata 
to 


pelure. 


□ 


32X 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

THE 


CATHOLIC    HISTOllY 


OF 


NORTH      AMERICA. 


FIVK    DISCOURSES. 


TO   WHICH   AKE   AUI)BI> 


TWO  D18COUBSE8  ON  THE  KEI^ATIOXS  Ol'  IRELAND  AND  AMERICA. 


By    THOMAS    D'ARCV    MCGEE,  ^ 

AUTHOR  OF  **THE   REFURMATinx    IN    IKKI.AKP,"  "  IKtSII    SETfLllKS  fS    J- 


^0 


\- 


AMKKICA,"  KTC,  KTC. 


•  t       J        1ISCO'"KRrRS      OK     T,II  R  J  9"M  !•  A  S  S,         ^ 

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;..BOSp.T.QN.:  ..,   ;^   ,, 

21,  23,  &  25  Frankt.im  Street. 
18  5  5. 


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Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1854,  by 

PATRICK    DONAIIOE, 

la  tlte  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetta. 


STEBEOTTFED   AT  THE 
BOSTON    ITEREOTVPE     rOCNDBT. 


/^ 


'^Xgi-L 


DEDICATION. 


u 


AT  THE  FEET  OP 

p  ;.  MARY,   IMMACULATE, 

THE    EVER-BLESSED    MOTHER    OF    GOD, 

UNDER  WHOSE  AUSPICES  AMERICA  WAS 

DISCOVERED   AND   EXPLORED; 

-WHOSE  INTERCESSION  OUR  PIOUS  PREDECESSORS  ALWAYS  INTOKED 
WHOM  THE  CHURCH  HAS  GIVEN  US 

^$  '§iAxmm  0f  %  InM  Slates ; 

I  OFFER  THIS  LITTLE  BOOK, 


•^•, 


IN  DEEP  HUMILITY. 


All  Socls  Dat,  1854. 


,T» 


INTRODUCTION. 


The  following  Discourses,  delivered  during  the 
lecture  season,  1853-54,  first  at  New  York,  and 
subsequently,  in  part  or  whole,  at  Boston,  Cincin- 
nati, Washington,  and  Baltimore,  were  thought,  by 
several  of  those  who  heard  them,  worthy  of  publi- 
cation in  a  permanent  form.  When  I  state  that 
among  those  who  so  judged  there  were  many 
prelates,  distinguished  for  acquirements  and  judg- 
ment, and  others  well  versed  in  our  American 
history,  I  trust  the  reader  will  believe  that  the 
publication  has  not  been  dictated  "by  a  merely  per- 
sonal presumption  on  my  par  '■.. 

The  object  of  the  author  is  stated  in  the  three 

propositions  with  which  the  first  discourse  opens. 

The  authorities  on  which  ho  relies  are  quoted  in 

1«  (5) 


i 


I 


6 


INTRODUCTION. 


the  foot  notes  in  tlioso  instances  whero  thoro  wag 
danger  of  a  dispute  as  to  facts.  In  the  Appendix, 
certain  documents  which  could  not  be  inserted  in 
the  body  of  the  work,  will  bo  found  unabridged. 
They  arc  of  high  interest  in  themselves,  and  essen- 
tial to  this  argument. 

With  the  humble  request  that  the  work  may  be 
taken  as  a  sketch,  or  synopsis,  or  stop-gap,  and  no 
more,  I  commit  it  to  the  just  judgment  of  the 
American  public. 


\ 


^ 


CONTENTS. 


.      HISTORY  OP  AMERICA. 

PAOI 

I.    Columbus  and  the  Discovery, 9 

II.    The  Successors  of  Columbus 2O 

III.  The  Aborigines  and  Missionaries, 39 

IV.  The  Catholics  and  the  Revolution 68 

V.    The  Church  in  the  Republic, 90  -^ 

•       THE  RELATIONS  OF  IRELAND  AND  AMERICA. 

I.    Historical  Relations, .       .  112  v. 

II.    Actual  Relations, 13q    y 


^      APPENDII 

I.    The  Will  of  Christopher  Columbus, 157 

II.    Letter  and  Bull  of  Pope  Alexander  VI.  in  Relation  to  the 

Discovery  of  America, \i\ 

0) 


■rMiSi^SSZZiii 


8 


CONTEXTS. 


HI.    Apostolic  Letter  of  Pope  Paul  III.,  A.  D.  1537,  declaring 

the  American  Indians  to  be  rational  Creatures,       .        .    179 

IV.    Spanish  Form  of  taking  Possession 182 

V.    The  Jesuits  in  Canada, 186 

VI.  Address  of  the  Boman  Catholics  of  America  to  George 

Washington,  and  his  Reply, 194 

VII.  An  Account  of  the  blessed  Catharine  Tegahkouita,  illus- 

trating the  Influence  of  Christianity  on  the  domestic 
Life  of  our  Indians,    ....*...    199 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OF  AMERICA. 


% 


I. -COLUMBUS  AND  THE  DISCOVERY. 

I  HAVE  publicly  announced  for  some  time  that  I 
am  prepared  to  prove  in  these  discourses  three 
propositions,  to  wit :  — 

First.  —  That  the  discovery  and  exploration  of 
America  were  Catholic  enterprises,  undertaken  by 
Catholics  with  Catholic  motives,  and  carried  out 
by  Catholic  cooperation. 

Second.  —  That  the  only  systematic  attempts  to 
civilize  and  Christianize  the  aborigines  were  made 
by  Catholic  missionaries. 

Third,  —  That  the  independence  of  the  United 
States  was,  in  a  great  degree,  established  by  Catho- 
lic blood,  talent,  and  treasure. 

If  I  succeed  in  establishing  these  three  propo- 
sitions, —  as  I  believe  I  shall  succeed,  —  may  we  not 
hope  that  the  offensive  tone  of  toleration  and  supe- 
riority so  common  with  sectarians  will  be  hereafter 
abated  ;  that  more  merit  will  be  allowed  to  the 
ages  before  Protestanti.sm,  which  produced  all  the 


'%- 


10 


CATHOLIC  HISTORY  OP  AMERICA. 


great  oceanic  discoverers ;  that  a  more  respectful 
style  may  be  used  in  speaking  of  Spain  and  Italy — 
the  two  arms  of  European  civilization  first  extend- 
ed to  draw  in  and  embrace  America  ? 

If  I  can  show — as  I  believe  1  can — that  since  its 
discovery  America  has  never  been  wholly  broken 
off  from  its  Catholic  commencement,  —  that  saints, 
popes,  cardinals,  and  all  the  religious  orders  are 
associated  inseparably  with  its  annals,  —  then  may 
I  not  hope  to  satisfy  you,  and  through  you  to  per- 
suade your  children,  that  the  church  is  no  stranger, 
no  intruder,  neither  unknown  nor  untried  here, 
but  that  as  certainly  as  it  Is  the  oldest  institution  in 
Europe,  so  it  is  the  oldest  in  America  ? 

With  your  indulgence  we  will  follow  the  chrono- 
logical order.  We  will  begin  with  Columbus  and 
his  successors,  pass  next  to  the  missions  among  the 
Indian  tribes,  and  then  to  the  revolution  and  con- 
stitution of  the  United  States. 

It  is  not  easy  to  cast  back  the  imagination  four 
centuries.  Can  you  conceive  what  Europe  was  be- 
fore Luther?  or  can  you  imagine  America  before 
Columbus?  On  this  side  no  better  vessel  than  a 
birch  canoe  burdened  the  waters,  and  the  boldest 
native  navigator  rarely  ventured  beyond  "  the  Nar- 
rows." North  of  the  rude  villages  of  the  Natchez 
no  towns  were  known  ;  but  over  the  land  wandered 
a  race,  red,  naked,  barbarous,  broken  into  petty 
tribes,  unlearned  in  even  the  alphabet  of  civilization, 
Beasts  of  prey  disputed  with  the  wild  huntsman  tht. 
game  his  flint-bead  arrow  overtook ;  and  chance 


i 


f 


COLUMBUS  AND  THE  DISCOVERY. 


11 


[ 


"    -> 


Bov  timber  fattened  on  the  soil  the  Indian  knew 
not  how  to  cultivate.  Can  you  imagine  this  conti- 
nent so  savage,  so  sylvan  as  it  then  was  —  so  every 
way  unlike  what  it  has  since  become? 

Turn,  then,  to  the  other  side.  Behold  Europe  four 
centuries  since.  How  unlike  the  Europe  of  to-day  1 
Printing  had  just  been  discovered  ;  the  ocean  was 
as  yet  a  mystery  ;  Protestantism  had  not  emerged  ; 
the  Turks  had  lately  taken  Constantinople  ;  the  men 
of  trade,  enrolled  in  exclusive  guilds,  pursued  the 
arts  of  peace  in  the  intervals  of  war ;  the  Italian 
cities  were  the  centres  of  that  traffic  which  had  not 
yet  remoxed  its  outposts  into  Holland  or  England  ; 
Commerce,  shivering  amidships  in  her  open  boat, 
steered  from  cape  to  cape,  dropping  her  anchor  with 
the  evening,  to  weigh  it  with  the  dawn ;  walled 
and  battlemented  cities  stretched  along  the  seas  and 
rivers,  swarming  with  a  laborious  and  believing 
generation.  Above  all  rose  Rome,  mother  and  mis- 
tress of  Christian  nations,  patron  of  every  science, 
protector  of  every  art,  preserver  of  every  relic  of 
enlightened  antiquity.  .  > 

Under  the  fair  sky  of  Italy,  Christopher  Colum- 
bus, the  son  of  a  Genoese  wool  comber,  was  born  in 
the  year  of  our  Lord  1435.  At  the  celebrated  Uni- 
versity of  Pavia,  endowed  by  Charlemagne  and  fos- 
tered by  the  popes,  he  received  some  degree  of 
education.  At  fourteen  years  of  age  he  was  at  sea  ; 
at  twenty-four,  captain  of  a  galley  for  Rene  of 
Anjou,  who  claimed  to  be  King  of  Naples  and  Jeru- 
salem.   In  the  year  1470  he  made  his  home  in  the 


nrt'woian"**' 


12 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OP  AMERICA. 


i>  • 


port  of  Lisbon,  where  he  married,  had  a  son  born  to 
him,  and  became  a  widower.  Here  he  dwelt  four- 
teen years,  (interspersed  by  voyages  into  the  north 
of  Europe,)  maintaining  himself  while  on  shore  as  a 
maker  and  peddler  of  maps. 

It  was  an  age  of  uncommon  hardihood  and  specu- 
lation. In  geographical  science  three  persons  de- 
serve especially  to  be  named  as  precursors  of  Co- 
lumbus and  the  modern  era — Cardinal  D'Ailly  of 
France,  Paulo  Toscanelli  of  Florence,  and  Prince 
Henry  of  Portugal. 

Cardinal  D'Ailly  is  considered  by  Humboldt  the 
restorer  of  geographical  science.  His  learning  and 
virtues  had  raised  him  from  a  very  humble  origin 
to  the  councils  of  his  king  and  the  dignity  of  car- 
dinal. Among  many  political  cares  and  employ- 
ments he  made  time  to  pursue  his  favorite  studies, 
of  which  the  Imago  Mundi  remains  in  evidence. 
This  work  is  supposed  to  have  been  of  service  to 
Columbus. 

Prince  Henry  of  Portugal  proved  that  princes 
might  enrich  their  states  as  much  by  science  as  by 
arms.  Led  by  his  love  of  experimental  study,  he 
erected  a  palace  at  Algarves,  on  Cape  St.  Vincent. 
It  combined  the  attractions  of  a  court  with  the  uses 
of  an  academy.  Here  he  erected  an  observatory, 
entertained  teachers  of  every  art,  and  studied  under 
them  as  humbly  as  any  of  his  guests  or  dependants. 
He  had  chosen  in  early  youth  as  a  motto,  "  The 
talent  to  do  good,"  and  passed  all  his  life  be- 
tween study  and  prayer.     Under  his  auspices  the 


f1 


»  • 


COLUMBUS  AND  THE  DISCOVERY. 


IS 


I  ( 


y 


if 


1 
f 


Azores  were  discovered  and  Africa  partially  cir- 
cumnavigated. He  died  soon  after  Columbus  came 
to  Lisbon,  leavini?  Portugal  at  the  head  of  the  mari- 
time  enterprise  of  the  age. 

Paulo  Toscanelli  occupied  a  humbler  rank  in 
life,  but  a  higher  place  in  science.  He  was  a  master 
of  what  remained  of  the  ancient  learning  and  an 
enthusiastic  experimentalist.  The  canons  of  the 
great  Church  of  St.  Mary,  in  Florence,  had  given 
him  the  use  of  their  tower  for  an  observatory. 
There,  raised  as  far  above  the  populous  city  in  space 
as  in  spirit ;  where  the  sweet  incense  stole  up  to 
the  sky,  saluting  him  as  it  ascended  ;  where  the 
solemn  bells  pealed  out  the  hours  around  him,  —  he 
wrote  encouraging  letters  to  Columbus  and  devised 
that  conjectural  chart  of  the  Atlantic  which  accom- 
panied the  admiral  in  his  first  voyage.  The  Tus- 
can died  two  years  before  his  friend  had  been  ena- 
bled to  test  in  practice  their  common  design. 

At  the  court  of  Portugal  there  arose  no  successor 
to  Prince  Henry.  Emmanuel,  called  "the  wise," 
had  little  faith  in  the  learned  letters  and  conjectural 
charts  exhibitcl  by  the  Genoese  sailor.  After  ex- 
hausting every  hope,  Columbus  quitted  Lisbon  for 
the  court  of  Spain,  where  he  was  destined,  not  with- 
out long  delay  and  severe  trials,  to  find  the  patron- 
age he  had  sought  so  long. 

It  was  in  the  year  1485  that  Columbus  came  into 
Spain,  where  he  spent  seven  years  of  negotiation 
and  uncertainty  before  he  was  enabled  to  enter  on 
a  first  voyage.     From  his  arrival  in  Spain  it  is  easy 


%'! 


14 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OF  AMERICA. 


to  demonstrate  the  Catholic  character  of  the  man 
and  the  enterprise.  American  and  British  works 
on  the  discovery  (even  including  the  exquisite  biog- 
raphy by  Mr.  Irving)  do  not  bring  out  boldly  the 
high  religious  character  of  either.  I  will  endeavor  ,^ 
to  show  wherein  that  character  lies,  by  classifying 
the  proofs  as  they  relate  to  the  admiral's  intentions, 
to  his  first  friends,  to  his  conduct  of  the  enterprise, 
and  his  estimate  of  it  after  he  had  succeeded. 

The  admiral  might  be  called  for  his  age,  or  in- 
deed for  any  age,  a  learned  layman.  His  letters 
show  an  acquaintance  with  the  Christian  fathers, 
particularly  St.  Ambrose  and  St.  Basil ;  and  with 
the  Scriptures,  especially  the  prophetical  books 
and  the  Psalms  of  David.  With  Marco  Palo, 
Cardinal  D'Ailly,  and  other  cosmographical  wri- 
ters he  was  familiar.  But  what  gives  the  most 
decided  tinge  to  his  character  is  his  enthusiastic 
devotion,  his  full  conviction  that  he  was  an  instru- 
ment in  the  hands  of  God.  He  saw  visions ;  he 
heard  heavenly  voices  ;  his  dreams  were  prophetic. 
In  Hispaniola,  as  he  lay  sick,  and  off  the  disastrous 
coast  of  Veragua  by  night,  he  heard  a  voice,  which 
said  to  him,  "  God  will  cause  thy  name  to  be  won- 
derfully resounded  through  the  earth,  and  give  thee 
the  keys  of  the  gates  of  ocean,  which  are  closed  with  ' 
strong  chains."  *  His  son  and  biographer,  speaking 
doubtless  on  hints  received  from  the  admiral,  ob- 
serves that  the  name  Columbus  rightly  signifies  a 

•  Humboldt's  Examen    Critique  de    I'Histoire  de  la  Geographic, 
t.  iii.  p.  234.  ^ 


i 


I 


COLUMBUS  AND  THE   DISCOVEUY. 


15 


/ 
f 


dove,  as  of  one  ordained  "  to  carry  the  olive  branch 
and  oil  of  baptism  over  tlie  ocean,  (like  Noah'3 
dove.)  to  denote  the  peace  and  union  of  the  heathen 
people  with  tlie  cluirch  after  they  liad  been  shut  up 
in  the  ark  of  darkness  and  inlidelity."  Nor  is  his 
own  frequent  testimony  wanting  to  prove  that  ho 
considered  himself  as  a  special  agent  of  divine  Prov- 
idence. In  his  capitulation  with  the  Spanish  sov- 
ereigns *  he  expressly  stipulated  that  the  gains  aris- 
ing from  the  discoveries  were  to  be  dedicated  to  the 
ransom  of  the  holy  sepulchre.  In  his  letter  to 
Pope  Alexander  after  his  first  voyage,  he  repeats 
that  such  was  still  his  purpose.  "  It  was,"  says  Mr. 
Irving,  "  meditated  throughout  the  remainder  of  his 
life,  and  solemnly  provided  for  in  his  will."  f  What 
intention  could  be  more  Catholic  than  this?  A 
desire  to  rescue  the  holy  sepulchre  from  the  pollu- 
tion of  MahoniQtanism  was  the  pious  passion  of  the 
believing  ages.  That  passion  Columbus  shared  as 
deeply  as  St.  Bernard,  or  St.  Louis,  or  Godfrey,  or 
Pope  St.  Pius.  He  belongs  by  right  to  the  suc- 
cession of  the  crusaders,  and  is  every  way  worthy 
of  their  company. 

It  is  no  slight  evidence  of  the  religious  character 
of  the  admiral  that  his  best  friends  were  found  in 
the  order  of  St.  Dominic.  "  The  purse  of  the  worthy 
friar,  Diego  de  Deza,"  (tutor  to  Prince  Juan,)  sus- 
tained him  in  adversity  ;  %  and  when,  in  despair,  ho 

*  Concluded  on  the  Vega  of  Grenada,  April  17,  1492. 
f  See  Appendix  No.  I.  for  this  characteristic  document. 
J  Irving,  vol.  J, 


16 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OP  AMERICA. 


I  /; 


was  about  to  quit  Spain  forever,  at  the  convent  of 
La  Rabida  ho  found  a  friend  in  the  prior,  Juan 
Perez,  who  brought  him  back  to  confidence  and  suc- 
cess. Leaving  the  disheartened  suitor  to  rest  him- 
self among  his  monks,  the  prior,  "  saddling  his  mule 
at  midnight,"  departed  for  the  court  and  gained 
audience  of  Isabella.  When  he  had  urged  with  all 
his  eloquence  the  suit  of  his  friend,  "  I  will  assume 
the  undertaking  for  my  own  crown  of  Castile ! " 
exclaimed  the  illustrious  lady.  "  I  will  pawn  my 
jewels  to  defray  the  expenses  of  it  if  the  funds  in 
the  treasury  should  be  found  inadequate  I "  The 
Dominican  returned  rejoicing  to  La  Rabida.  Co- 
lumbus retraced  his  .steps  to  the  court ;  and  the 
expedition  was  at  last  decided  on. 

Here  let  us  pause.  The  previous  conference  at 
Salamanca  is  often  ridiculed  for  its  want  of  cosmo- 
graphical  knowledge  and  denounced  for  its  bigoted 
adherence  to  the  letter  of  the  Scriptures.  It  might 
help  to  mitigate  our  contempt  for  the  past  to  sup- 
pose a  foreign  shipmaster  or  mapmaker  of  the 
present  day  expounding  a  new  geographical  theory  to 
one  of  our  own  academies.  If  the  Spaniards  were 
not  before  their  age,  they  were  at  least  not  beyond 
instruction ;  for  we  are  told  that  in  this  very  con- 
ference Columbus  "  brought  over  the  most  learned 
men  of  the  schools  "  to  his  side.  It  is  known  that 
several  high  officials,  as  the  Treasurers  Quintanilla 
and  St.  Angel,  were  his  warm  partisans  at  court. 
Yet  granting  —  which  is  not  the  fact  —  that  his 
novel  theories  met  most  opposition  from  churchmen, 


.*,>ii. 


COLUMBUS  AND  THE  DISCOVEUY. 


17 


what  Avould  that  prove  but  that  they  were  stic- 
klers for  the  letter  of  tlie  Scriptures?  Churchmen 
have  certainly  desired  to  reconcile  Rciencc  to  the 
sacred  writings  ;  and  for  this  are  they  to  be  accused 
of  enmity  to  hoth  ?  Those  who  would  fain  fabricate 
another  fiction  like  Galileo's  persecution  will  find 
the  facts  too  stubl)orn  and  the  light  too  strong  for 
thera  in  the  case  of  Columbas. 

In  the  foreground  of  American  history  there 
stand  these  three  figures  —  a  lady,  a  sailor,  and  a 
monk.  Might  they  not  be  thought  to  typify  Faith, 
Hope,  and  Charity  ?  The  lady  is  especially  deserv- 
ing of  honor.  Years  after  his  first  success  the  ad- 
miral wrote,  "  In  the  midst  of  general  incredulity 
the  Almighty  infused  into  the  queen,  my  lady,  the 
spirit  of  intelligence  and  energy.  While  every  one 
else  in  his  ignorance  was  expatiating  on  the  cost 
and  inconvenience,  her  highness  approved  of  it  on 
the  contrary,  and  gave  it  all  the  support  in  her 
power."  And  what  were  the  distinguishing  quali- 
ties of  this  foster  mother  of  American  discovery  ? 
Fervent  piety,  unfeigned  humility,  profound  rever- 
ence for  the  holy  see,  a  spotless  life  as  daughter, 
mother,  wife,  and  queen.  "  She  is,"  says  a  Protes- 
tant author,  "  one  of  the  purest  and  most  beautiful 
characters  in  the  pages  of  history."  Her  holy  life 
had  won  for  her  the  title  of  "  the  Catholic."  Other 
queens  have  been  celebrated  for  beauty,  for  magnifi- 
cence, for  learning,  or  for  good  fortune  ;  but  the 
foster  mother  of  America  alone,  of  all  the  women  of 
liistory,  is  called  "  the  Catholic." 


Ivi 


.'>  * 


18 


CATHOLIC  HISTORY  OF  AMERICA. 


As  to  tho  conduct  of  the  undertaking,  we  have 
first  to  remark,  that  on  the  port  of  Palos  the  origi- 
nal outfit  depended ;  and  Palos  itself  depended  on 
the  neighboring  convent.  In  the  refectory  of  La 
Rabida  the  agreement  was  made  between  Columbus 
and  the  Pinzons  ;  from  the  porch  of  tho  Church  of 
St.  George  the  royal  orders  were  read  to  the  aston- 
ished townsfolk.  The  aids  and  assurances  of  re- 
ligion were  brought  into  requisition  to  encourage 
sailors,  always  a  superstitious  generation,  to  embark 
on  this  mysterious  voyage.  On  the  morning  of  their 
departure  a  temporary  chapel  was  erected  with 
spars  and  sails  on  the  strand  ;  and  there,  in  sight  of 
their  vessels  riding  at  shortened  anchors,  the  three 
crews  —  numbering  in  all  one  hundred  and  twenty 
souls  —  received  the  blessed  sacrament.  Rising 
from  their  knees,  they  departed  with  the  benediction 
of  the  church,  like  the  breath  of  heaven,  filling  their 
sails. 

The  admiral  had  placed  himself  under  the  special 
protection  of  our  Blessed  Lady.  His  own  ship  was 
called  the  Santa  Maria  de  la  Concepcion.  In  his  cabin 
lay  the  charts  drawn  up  in  the  Church  of  St.  Maria 
Maggiore  at  Florence.  The  first  and  last  known 
land  they  touched  at  proved  to  be  St.  Mary^s,  in  the 
Azores.  The  second  island  discovered  was  called 
La  Concepcion,  (the  first  being  properly  called  San 
Salvador.)  The  whole  fleet,  "  according  to  invariable 
custom,"  sang  the  Salve  Regina  every  evening  as  the 
sun  went  down.*    These  are  very  remarkable  facts 


i| 


•  This  exquisite  hymn  is  thus  usually  translated :  — 


i 


COLUMBUS  AND  THE  DISCOVERY. 


19 


of  themselves  ;  but  they  become  still  more  so  when 
we  remember  that  the  see  of  Rome  only  a  few  years 
since,  at  the  unanimous  request  of  our  own  prelates, 
declared  this  part  of  the  new  world  under  the 
special  patronage  of  the  same  Blessed  Lady.  Co- 
lumbus, in  his  piety,  had  been  beforehand  with  the 
bishops  in  choosing  for  America  its  august  pa- 
troness. 

On  the  night  before  the  discovery  of  the  first 
land,  after  tlie  Salve  Regina  had  been  chanted,  ac- 
cording to  his  biographers,  the  admiral  made  an 
impressive  address  to  his  crew.  This  speech  must 
have  been  one  of  the  most  Catholic  orations  ever 
delivered  in  the  new  world.  It  has  not  been  re- 
corded ;  it  can  never  be  invented.  We  can,  indeed, 
conceive  what  a  lofty  homily  on  confidence  in  God 
and  his  ever  Blessed  Mother  such  a  man  so  situat- 
ed would  be  able  to  deliver.  We  can  imagine  we 
see  him  as  he  stands  on  the  darkened  deck  of  the 
Santa  Maria,  his  thin  locks  lifted  by  the  breeze  al- 
ready odorous  of  land,  and  his  right  hand  pointing 
onward  to  the  west.  We  almost  hear  him  exclaim, 
"  Yonder  lies  the  land  !  Where  you  can  see  only 
night  and  vacancy,  I  behold  India  and  Cathay  !   The 

"  Hail,  O  Queen,  O  Mother  of  mercy ;  hail,  our  life,  our  comfort,  and 
our  hope. 

"  We,  the  banished  children  of  Eve,  cry  out  unto  thee.  To  thee  we 
send  up  our  sighs,  groaning  and  weeping  in  this  vale  of  tears. 

"  Come,  then,  our  advocate,  and  look  upon  us  with  those  thy  pity- 
ing eyes, 

"  And,  after  this  our  banishment,  show  us  Jesus,  the  blessed  fruit  of 
thy  womb. 

"  O  merciful,  0  pious,  0  sweet  Virgin  Mary  !  " 


'^>^: 


'% 


20 


CATHOLIC   IIISTOIIY   OP   AMERICA. 


darkness  of  tlio  lioui*  will  pass  away,  and  with  it 
tlio  ni^lit  of  nations.  Cities  more  beautiful  than 
Seville,  countries  more  fertile  than  Andalusia,  aro 
off  yonder.  There  lies  the  terrestrial  paradise, 
watered  with  its  four  rivers  of  life  ;  there  lies  the 
golden  Opliir,  from  which  Solomon,  the  son  of  Da- 
vid, drew  the  ore  that  adorned  the  temjde  of  the 
living  God  ;  there  we  shall  find  whole  nations  un- 
known to  Christ,  to  whom  you,  ye  favored  compan- 
ions of  my  voyage,  shall  be  the  first  to  bring  '  tho 
glad  tidings  of  great  joy'  proclaimed  *  of  old  by 
angels'  lips  to  the  shepherds  of  Chaldea.' "  But 
alas  I  who  shall  attemi)t  to  supply  tho  words  spoken 
by  such  a  man  at  such  a  moment,  on  that  last  night 
of  expectation  and  uncertainty  —  the  evo  of  the 
birthday  of  a  new  world  ? 

Columbus  and  his  companions  landed  on  tho 
morning  of  the  12th  of  October,  1492,  on  the  littlo 
island  which  they  called  San  Salvador.  Threo 
boats  conveyed  them  to  the  shore  :  over  each  boat 
floated  a  broad  banner,  blazoned  with  "  a  green 
cross."  On  reaching  the  land  the  admiral  threw 
himself  on  his  knees,  kissed  the  earth,  and  shed 
tears  of  joy.  Then,  raising  his  voice,  he  uttered 
aloud  that  short  but  fervent  prayer,  which,  after 
him,  all  Catholic  discoverers  were  wont  to  repeat. 
It  is  in  these  words  :  "  0  Lord  God,  eternal  and 
omnipotent,  who  by  thy  divine  word  hast  created 
the  heavens,  the  earth,  and  the  sea,  blessed  and 
glorified  be  thy  name,  and  praised  thy  majesty, 
who  hast  deigned,  by  me,  thy  humble  servant,  to 


t    3 


I 


COLUMllUy   AXD   THE   DISCOVKIIY. 


liavc  that  saorod  uiuno  made  known  niul  preached 
in  tlii.s  oth(?r  part  of  tlio  world.''  * 

The  nomenclaturo  u.nod  by  tho  great  discoverer, 
like  all  his  aci  ,  is  csseutiully  Catholic.  Neither 
lii.s  own  nor  his  patron's  name  i.s  precii)itatcd  on 
capo,  river,  or  island.  San  Salvador,  Santa  Trini- 
dada,  San  Domingo,  San  Nicholas,  San  Jago,  San- 
ta ^Earia,  Santa  Marta,  —  these  are  the  mementoes 
of  his  first  success.  All  egotism,  all  selfish  policy, 
was  utterly  lost  in  the  overpowering  sense  of  being 
but  an  instrument  in  the  hands  of  Providence. 

After  cruising  a  couple  of  months  among  the  Ba- 
hamas, and  discovering  many  new  islands,  ho  re- 
turns to  Spain.  In  this  homeward  voyage  two 
tempests  threaten  to  ingulf  his  solitary  ship. 
In  the  darkest  hour  he  supplicates  our  Blessed 
Lady,  his  dear  patroness.  Ho  vows  a  pilgrimage 
barefoot  to  her  nearest  shrine,  whatever  land  ho 
makes  —  a  vow  punctually  fulfilled.  Safely  ho 
reaches  the  Azores,  tho  Tagus,  and  tho  port  of  Pa- 
les. His  first  act  is  a  solemn  procession  to  the 
Church  of  St.  George,  from  which  the  royal  or- 
ders had  been  first  made  known.  Ho  next  writes 
in  this  strain  to  the  Treasurer  Sanchez  :  "Let  pro- 
cessions be  made,  let  festivals  bo  held,  let  churches 


*  The  original  praj'cr,  as  given  by  Irving,  from  the  Tablas  C/irono- 
logicas  of  Padre  Clementc,  reads  thus  :  — 

"Doraine  Deus  astcrne  et  omnipotens,  sacro  tuo  verbo  ccchim,  ct 
terram,  et  mare  creasti ;  benedleatur  et  glorificctur  nomen  tuum,  lau- 
detur  tua  majestas,  quaj  dignita  est  per  humilem  servum  tuum,  ut 
ejus  sacrum  nomen  agnoscatur,  et  pncdicatur,  in  hac  altera  muudi 
parte." 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY   OP  AMERICA. 


be  filled  with  branches  and  flowers  ;  for  Christ  re- 
joices on  earth  as  in  heaven,  seeing  the  future  re- 
demption of  souls."  The  court  was,  at  the  time,  at 
Barcelona  ;  and  thither  he  repaired  with  the  living 
evidences  of  his  success.  Seated  on  the  royal  dais, 
with  the  aborigines,  the  fruits,  flowers,  birds,  and 
metals  spread  out  before  them,  he  told  to  princes 
his  wondrous  tale.  As  soon  as  he  had  ended,  "  the 
kin^  and  queen,  with  all  present,  prostrated  them- 
selves on  their  knees  in  grateful  thanksgiving ; 
while  the  solemn  strains  of  the  Te  Deum  were 
poured  forth  by  the  choir  of  the  Royal  Chapel  as 
in  commemoration  of  some  great  victory."  * " 

To  place  beyond  any  supposition  of  doubt  the 
Catholicity  of  this  extraordinary  event,  one  evi- 
dence is  still  wanting — the  official  participation  of 
the  sovereign  pontiff.    That  it  had  from  the  outset. 

On  the  15th  of  March,  1493,  Columbus  reached 
Palos.  On  the  9th  of  May  following  Pope  Alexan- 
der issued  the  famous  bull,  inter  cetera.f  In  this 
bull,  after  reciting  the  relations  of  the  Spanish  sov- 
ereigns to  the  holy  see,  the  pope  proceeds  to  speak 
of  the  late  discovery  in  these  words  :  — 

"  We  have  heard  to  our  great  joy  that  you  have 
proposed  to  labor  and  use  every  exertion,  that  the 
inhabitants  of  certain  islands  and  continents  remote 
and  hitherto  unknown,  and  of  others  yet  undiscov- 


■  * 


*  Prescott  —  Ferdinand  and  Isabella. 

t  See  Appendix  No.  II.  for  this  document  in  full ;  also  for  Count  do 
Maistre's  commentary  upon  it.  As  the  first  Papal  bull  concerning 
America,  it  is  worth  consideration. 


COLUMBUS  AND  THE   DISCOVERY. 


23 


? 


ered,  be  reduced  to  worship  our  Redeemer  and  pro- 
fess the  Catholic  faith.  Till  now  you  have  been 
fully  occupied  in  the  conquest  and  capture  of  Gre- 
nada, and  could  not  accomplish  your  holy  and 
praiseworthy  desires  nor  obtain  the  results  you 
wished.  You  sent,  not  without  the  greatest  exer- 
tions, dangers,  and  expense,  our  beloved  son  Chris- 
topher Colon,  a  man  of  worth  and  much  to  be  com- 
mended, fit  for  such  business,  with  vessels  and  car- 
goes, diligently  to  search  for  continents  and  remote 
and  unknown  islands  on  a  sea  hitherto  never  nav- 
igated ;  who  finally,  with  the  divine  assistance 
and  great  diligence,  navigated  the  vast  ocean,  and 
discovered  certain  most  distant  islands  and  conti- 
nents which  were  previously  unknown,  in  which 
very  many  nations  dwell  peaceably,  and,  as  it  is 
said,  go  naked  and  abstain  from  animal  food," 
&c. 

On  this  recital  the  required  sanction  was  condi- 
tionally given,  the  conditions  being  that  the  Span- 
iards should  not  trespass  on  discoveries  already 
made  by  the  Portuguese  or  any  Christian  power ; 
that  they  should  not  search  for  land  within  one 
hundred  leagues  west  and  south  of  the  Cape  de 
Verds,  already  possessed  by  Portugal ;  and  that  they 
should  "  send  to  the  said  islands  and  continents 
tried  men,  who  fear  God,  learned,  and  skilful  and 
expert  to  instruct  the  inhabitants  in  the  Catholic 
faith  and  teach  them  good  morals." 

In  accordance  with  the  requirements  of  the  pope, 
there  sailed  in  the  second  voyage  of  Columbus  tho 


24 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OP  AMERICA. 


%ii 


Right  Rev.  Bernardo  Buyl,  or  Boyle,  vicar  apos- 
tolic for  the  new  world,  accompanied  by  twelve 
priests.  The  life  of  this  ecclesiastic  is  less  known 
than  otherwise  might  be  expected  did  we  not 
learn  that,  after  less  than  a  year  in  the  Island 
of  Hayti,  he  joined  in  a  cabal  against  the  admiral, 
and  returned  to  Spain,  where  he  died.  He  seems 
to  have  been  one  of  those  who  precede  the  apostles 
of  nations,  but  are  not  destined  themselves  to  be 
apostles.  He  is,  however,  to  be  remembered  as 
having  consecrated  the  first  Christian  church  in 
the  new  world,  on  the  feast  of  the  Epiphany, 
1494 ;  as  having  founded  the  mission  of  Hayti ;  and 
as  the  first  representative  of  the  holy  see  in  this 
region  of  the  earth.  His  name  and  acts,  obscure 
as  they  have  become  through  time  and  negligence, 
do,  nevertheless,  supply  the  last  conclusive  link  of 
evidence  to  the  Catholic  character  of  American  dis- 
covery.       y^_ 

It  is  time  to  part  with  the  illustrious  sailor  who 
has  hitherto  occupied  us  exclusively.  His  charac- 
ter transcends  praise,  as  his  achievements  baflie  de- 
scription. He  resembles  not  remotely  Adam  stand- 
ing alone  in  the  new  creation,  or  Noah  steering  for 
the  emerging  peaks  of  Ararat.  He  stands  in  space 
the  patriarch  of  the  Atlantic  isles  and  coasts  ;  and 
all  may  see,  who  look  upon  him  closely,  that  the 
prayers  of  our  church  move  his  lips  in  gratitude, 
while  its  cross  overshadows  him  wherever  he  goes. 
"What  a  lesson  the  life  of  that  first  European  Amer- , 
ican  teaches !    How  -well  did  he  unite  faith  and  sci- 


.  * 


COLUMBUS  AND  THE   DISCOVERY. 


25 


.  * 


I 


ence,  the  pious  and  the  practical  virtues !  Tn  tho 
presence  of  Columbus  no  modern  can  boast  a  superi- 
or love  of  progrcrss  ;  but  his  prog'ress  was  not  of  the 
kind  that  leaves  religion  altogether  out  of  sight :  — 


Toil,  and  pain, 


Famine,  and  hostile  element",  ^nd  hos+s 
Embattled  failed  to  check  him  in  his  course  — 
Not  to  be  wearied,  not  to  be  deterred, 
Not  to  be  overcome." 


Such  was  his  career.  But,  with  all  the  energy 
and  courage  of  the  American  nature  as  it  now  is, 
he  united  the  simplicity  of  the  Catholic  and  the  pa- 
tience of  the  apostle.  In  one  sentence  we  may  say, 
that,  of  all  the  laymen  who  have  lived  or  who  lie 
buried  in  the  new  world,  he  was  probably  the  best, 
as  he  is  certainly  the  most  illustrious,  from  the  sin- 
gular and  incomparable  nature  of  his  achievements. 


i  i 


11. -THE  SUCCESSORS  OF  COLUMBUS. 


If 


It  might  plausibly  be  objected  that  the  character 
of  a  single  actor,  however  eminent,  is  not  enough 
to  stamp  its  own  religious  impress  on  so  vast  an 
enterprise  as  the  discovery  of  America.  I  admit 
the  plausibility  of  the  objection  ;  and,  as  the  plausi- 
ble is  often  mistaken  for  the  real,  it  is  necessary  to 
forestall  this  fallacious  escape,  from  the  conclusion 
we  have  just  arrived  at. 

The  success  of  Columbus  stimuUted  not  only 
Spain,  but  all  Europe,  to  oceanic  enterprise.  In  this 
new  career  France  may  d'^pute  the  second  place 
with  Portugal ;  England  comes  next ;  Holland  and 
Sweden  last.  The  captains  under  all  these  powers 
were  Catholics  ;  the  observances  and  spirit  of  each 
expedition  were  Catholic  ;  the  forms  used  by  other 
nations  in  taking  possession  or  in  founding  colonies 
were  copied  after  Spain,  and  of  course  were  Cath- 
olic. A  little  attention  to  the  principal  facts  in 
each  case  will  prove  this  to  be  an  accurate  de- 
scription of  the  whole  series  of  discoveries. 

The  Spaniards  themselves  were  the  first  to  fol- 
low up  their  own  work.  Alonzo  de  Ojeda  and 
Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa  are  the  chief  of  the  Spanish 

(26) 


t'jl 


1 1 

I' 


THE  SUCCESSORS  OF  COLUMBUS. 


27 


'i 


■i 


captains  after  Columbus.  There  are  a  score  of 
others,  very  eminent  in  their  day  ;  but  these  two 
represent  the  whole  order.  Ojeda  is  a  character 
history  has  loved  to  paint.  Intrepid  even  to  rash- 
ness, he  well  knew  how  to  employ  diplomacy  when 
force  fell  short.  A  cavalier  accomplished  at  all 
points,  a  courtier  outshining  all  others  of  his  age, 
every  historian  of  American  enterprise  follows  his 
career  with  willing  praise.  lie  was  the  discov- 
erer of  much  of  the  coast  of  Terra  Firma  and 
the  founder  of  the  colony  of  San  Sebastian.  His 
courage,  his  disasters,  his  politic  shifts  were  long 
to  tell.  In  his  lirst  voyage  (1499)  he  was  accom- 
panied by  Americus  Vespucci,  a  Florentine,  who 
wrote  an  account  of  the  expedition,  and  whose  now 
forgotten  book  gave  its  auchor's  name  to  the  new 
world.  For  ten  years  Don  Alonzo  continued  his 
American  adventures,  and  at  last  died,  a  baffled, 
broken-hearted  wight,  at  San  Domingo,  old  in 
troubles  rather  than  in  years.  The  character  of  this 
captain  was  above  all  things  remarkable  for  his 
enthusiastic  devotion  to  our  Bless'^d  Lady.  Bishop 
Las  Casas  relates  that  he  always  carried  about  him 
a  little  Flemish  painting  of  the  Mother  of  God, 
which,  when  wrecked  on  hostile  coasts  or  bewil- 
dered in  pathless  wilds,  he  was  wont  to  fasten 
against  the  next  tree,  then  kneel  before  it  and  de- 
voutly offer  up  his  prayers.  Once,  having  almost 
perished,  toiling  through  the  morasses  along  tho 
coast  of  Cuba,  he  made  a  vow  to  erect  a  chapel  to 
Our  Lady  at  the  first  village  he  should  meet,  and 


28 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OF   AMEltlCA. 


there  deposit  his  picture  for  the  veneration  of  all 
comers.  Tliis  vow  he  lived  to  fullil ;  and  the  Ma- 
donna of  Ojeda  was  long'  held  sacred  by  the  Indians 
of  Cueybai.*     AVheu  at  last  death  overtook  him, 


('  ♦  The  subsequent  story  of  Ojocla's   picture  is  thus  related  by  Mr. 

Irving :  "  Being  recovered  from  his  sult'erings,  Alonzo  de  Ojeda  pre- 
pared to  perform  his  vow  concerning  the  picture  of  the  Virgin  ;  though 
sorely  must  it  have  grieved  him  to  part  with  a  relic  to  whicli  he  attrib- 
uted his  deliverance  from  so  many  perils.  He  built  a  little  hermitage, 
or  oratory,  in  the  village,  and  furnished  it  with  an  altar,  above  which 
he  placed  the  picture.  He  then  summoned  the  benevolent  cacique 
and  explained  to  him,  as  well  as  his  limited  knowledge  of  the  language 
or  the  aid  of  interpreters  would  permit,  the  main  points  of  the  Cath- 
olic faith,  and  especially  the  history  of  the  Virgin,  whom  he  repre- 
sented as  the  Mother  of  the  Deity  that  reigned  in  the  skies  and  the 
great  advocate  for  mortal  nma. 

"  The  worthy  cacique  listened  to  him  with  mute  attention ;  and  though 
he  might  not  clearly  comprehend  the  doctrine,  yet  he  conceived  a  pro- 
found veneration  for  the  picture.  The  sentiment  was  shared  by  his 
subjects.  They  kept  the  little  oratory  always  swept  clean,  and  deco- 
rated it  with  cotton  hangings  labored  by  their  own  hands  and  with 
various  votive  offerings.  They  composed  couplets,  or  areytos,  in 
honor  of  the  Virgin,  which  they  sang  to  the  accompaniment  of  rude 
musical  instruments,  dancing  to  the  sound  under  the  groves  which 
surrounded  the  hermitage. 

*'  A  further  anecdote  concerning  this  relic  may  not  be  unacceptable. 
The  venerable  Las  Casas,  who  records  these  facts,  informs  us  that  he 
arrived  at  the  village  of  Cueybas  some  time  after  the  departure  of 
Ojeda.  He  found  the  oratory  preserved  with  the  most  religious  care 
as  a  sacred  place,  and  the  picture  of  the  V^irgin  regarded  with  fond 
adoration.  The  poor  Indians  crowded  to  attend  mass,  which  he  per- 
formed at  the  altar ;  they  listened  attentively  to  his  paternal  instruc- 
tions, and  at  his  request  brought  their  children  to  be  baptized.  The 
good  Las  Casas,  having  heard  much  of  this  famous  relic  of  Ojeda,  was 
desirous  of  obtaining  possession  of  it,  and  offered  to  give  the  cacique 
in  exchange  an  image  of  the  Virgin  which  he  had  brought  with  him. 
The  chieftain  made  an  evasive  answer,  and  seemed  much  troubled  in 
mind.     The  next  morning  he  did  not  make  his  appearance. 

"  Las  Casas  went  to  the  oratory  to  perform  mass,  but  found  the  ".liar 


li 


THE   SUCCESSORS   OF   COLUMBUS. 


29 


9' 

II 


tlic  Christian  cavalier  desired  liis  body  to  be  buried 
in  the  porch  of  the  nearest  church,  "  that  every  one 
'svho  entered  miglit  tread  upon  his  grave." 

Vasco  J^unez,  a  bankrupt  gentleman  of  Balboa, 
after  holding  some  minor  offices  in  the  colonies, 
found  himself,  in  the  year  1512,  governor  of  a  set- 
tlement called  Santa  Maria,  on  this  side  the  Isth- 
mus of  Darien.  Receiving  from  an  Indian  of  the 
interior  a  report  of  the  existence  of  a  great  sea 
to  the  west,  ho  resolved,  with  a  handful  of  men,  to 
go  in  quest  of  it.  On  foot,  through  tangled  woods 
and  fetid  marshes,  through  craggy  passes  and  hos- 
tile tribes,  he  forced  his  way  for  five  and  twenty 
days.  At  length  he  came  in  sight  of  a  mountain 
top,  from  which,  he  was  told,  the  ocean  was  visible. 
Halting  his  men  on  the  slope,  he  advanced  alone  to 
the  summit ;  and  there,  as  he  beheld  the  vast  Pacific 
Sea  spreading  leagues  away  towards  the  south,  he 
fell  upon  his  knees  in  an  ecstasy  of  joy  and  poured 
forth  the  full  fervor  of  his  Catholic  heart  to  God. 
What  a  subject  for  contemplation,  the  glory  and  the 
humility  of  Balboa  at  that  hour  I    Much  as  we  may 


stripped  of  its  precious  relic.  On  inquiring,  he  learned  that  in  the 
night  the  cacique  had  fled  to  the  woods,  bearing  off  with  liim  his  be- 
loved picture  of  the  Virgin.  It  was  in  vain  that  Las  Casas  sent  mes- 
sengers after  him  assuring  him  that  he  should  not  lie  deprived  of  tlie 
relic,  but,  on  the  contrary,  that  the  image  should  likewise  be  presented 
to  hira.  The  cacique  refused  to  venture  from  tlie  fastnesses  of  the 
forest ;  nor  did  he  return  to  liis  village  and  replace  the  picture  in  tlie 
oratory  until  after  the  'lepavture  of  the  Spaniards."  —  Las  Casas,  Hist. 
Ind.,  cap.  61,  manuscript.  Ilerrera,  Hist.  Ind.,  decad.  i.  lib.  ix. 
cup.  15. 

Q  * 


4 


80 


CATHOLIC  HISTORY   OP  AMERICA. 


admire  his  zeal  and  courage  in  tlio  exploration,  still 
more  ought  wo  to  honor  the  deep  sense  of  devotion 
whicli  seized  him  on  seeing  for  the  first  time,  and 
alone,  one  of  God's  most  wonderful  works.  The 
isthmus  he  governed  is  no  longer  a  wilderness  nor 
the  Pacific  a  blank  waste  of  waters.  Cities  aro 
there ;  commerce  is  there  ;  wealth  is  there.  Tho 
dream  of  Columbus  is  almost  realized  ;  and  the  trade 
of  India  will  yet  be  brought  that  way  to  Europe. 
Crowds  of  eager  adventurers  checker  the  land  with 
new  routes,  and  both  oceans  are  alive  with  ships  ; 
but  few  of  all  who  have  to  thank  God  for  homes 
or  fortunes  on  the  Pacific  shore  have  the  moral 
courage  to  cast  themselves,  like  Vasco  Nunez,  on 
their  knees  and  render  their  first  homage  to  the 
Lord  of  land  and  sea,  the  Giver  of  wealth  and  of 
conquest. 

Farther  southward  still,  the  Portuguese  discov- 
erers, Cabral  and  Orellana,  carried  on  the  work  of 
exploration.  Finally,  on  the  utmost  southern  capo 
the  pious  Magellan  planted  the  cross.  In  all  the 
Portuguese  voyages,  the  same  religious  characteris- 
tics prevail  as  in  those  of  the  Spaniards. 

At  the  north  we  once  more  meet  with  the  Italian 
genius  in  Verazzano  and  the  Cabots.  From  the 
Chesapeake  Bay  to  Massachusetts  they  coasted  the 
continent,  entered  its  rivers,  and  erected  crosses  on 
cape  after  cape.  The  Cabots  were  in  the  service 
of  England  ;  but  as  yet  England  was  Catholic,  and 
the  creed  of  an  Italian  vras  no  insuperable  bar  to 
his   employment.     This  section  of  the  continent, 


' 


THE  SUCCESSORS  OP  COLUMBUS. 


81 


which  now  prides  itself  on  its  peculiarly  Protestant 
antecedents,  was  thus  found  and  dcscribcu  by  our 
predecessors  in  the  faith  a  full  century  before  the 
Puritan  or  the  Quaker  had  yet  dreamed  of  colonizing 
in  the  new  world. 

Still  farther  north  we  come  upon  a  new  manifes- 
tation of  Catholic  energy  and  piety  —  the  French 
discoveries.  Verazzano  was  in  this  service  ;  but 
he  perished  at  sea  on  his  second  voyage,  and  his 
fame  has  been  eclipsed  by  that  of  Jaques  Cartier, 
discoverer  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  founder  of 
Quebec.  He  is  the  leader  of  an  illustrious  band  — 
the  Champlains  and  La  Salles.  It  is  proper  to 
make  some  brief  mention  of  each  of  these  person- 
ages. Cartier  sailed  on  his  first  voyage  from  St. 
Malo  on  the  20th  of  April,  1534 ;  and  on  the  24th 
of  July  following  he  erected  a  cross,  thirty  feet 
high,  on  the  shores  of  Gaspe  Bay.  Like  all  the 
rest  of  the  early  captains,  he  was  a  man  of  real 
piety.  In  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Malo  he  received 
the  blessed  sacrament  and  the  benediction  of  the 
church  on  his  departure  and  return  from  each 
voyage.  His  discoveries  he  generally  named  after 
the  saints  on  whose  festivals  they  were  made.  St. 
Laurent,  L'Isle  de  I'Assumption,*  St.  Croix,  the  St. 
Charles  River,  St.  Roques,  mark  the  series  of  his 
successes  and  the  spirit  of  the  man.  He  especially 
held  it  fortunate  that  he  had  discovered  "  the  begin- 
ning of  Canada  "  on  "  the  vigil  of  the  Blessed  Vir- 
gin," his  "  star  of  the  sea  "  also. 

*  Now  Anticosti. 


i's* 


32 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY   OP   AMERICA. 


Cbamplain,  tlic  most  distingiiislicd  of  tlie  succes- 
sors of  Carticr,  sailed  for  the  St.  Lawrence  in  the 
year  1603.  For  two  and  thirty  years  he  continued 
the  indefatifz:able  explorer  of  the  north-west.  "  To 
him,"  says  Mr.  Warburton,  '"  belongs  the  glory  of 
planting  Christianity  and  civilization  among  the 
snows  of  thet«e  northern  forests."  *  "  Champlain," 
says  Mr.  Bancroft,  "  considered  the  salvation  of  one 
soul  as  of  more  importance  tlian  the  conquest  of  an 
empire."  He  was  the  navigator  of  the  Upper  St. 
Lawrence,  the  discoverer  of  the  lake  that  bears  liia 
name,  and  of  the  Lake  St.  Sacrament.f  He  was  the 
founder  of  many  towns,  the  patron  of  all  the  mis 
sions,  the  friend  of  the  Indians,  the  first  and  the  best 
governor  of  New  France. 

Robert,  Cavalier  La  Salle,  as  the  first  explorer 
who  navigated  Ontario,  Erie,  Michigan,  and  Huron, 
deserves  to  bo  enumerated  with  the  great  captains. 
A  native  of  Rouen,  early  employed  in  the  colonies, 
he  had  been  instigated  by  the  reports  of  missiona- 
ries to  seek  through  the  northern  lakes  a  passage 
to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Building  a  schooner  on  the 
Cayuga  Creek,  he  ascended  the  lakes  in  1679  chant- 
ing the  Te  Deum  Laudamus.  Carrying  his  boats 
overland  from  the  Miami  to  a  branch  of  the  Illinois 
River,  he  forced  or  found  his  way  into  the  Upper 
Mississippi.  For  many  years,  with  most  heroic  con- 
stancy, this  soul  of  fire  and  frame  of  iron  was  do- 
voted  to  the  task  of  opening  routes  between  the 

*  Warburton's  Conquest  of  Cunada,  vol.  i.  p.  96. 
t  Now  Lake  George. 


'i. 


]; 


I 


'"^ 


THE  SUCCESSOnS  OF   COLUMBUi, 


m 


\i 


Gulfs  of  St.  Lawrence  and  of  Mexico,  until  he  per- 
ished in  his  enterprise  by  the  hands  of  two  of  his 
own  unworthv  followers,  on  an  excursion  into  Tex- 
as,  in  1C87.  The  Catholic  character  of  La  Salle  is 
marked  in  every  act  of  his  life.  lie  undertook 
nothing  without  fortifying  himself  by  religion  ;  he 
completed  nothing  without  giving  the  first  fruits  of 
the  glory  to  God.  He  planted  the  cross  wherever 
he  landed  even  for  an  hour  ;  he  made  the  western 
desert  vocal  with  songs,  hymns  of  thanksgiving,  and 
adoration.  He  is  the  worthy  compeer  of  De  Soto 
and  Marquette  ;  he  stands  sword  in  hand  under  the 
banner  of  the  cross,  the  tutelary  genius  of  those 
great  states  which  stretch  away  from  Lake  Ontario 
to  the  Rio  Grande.  Every  league  of  that  region  he 
trod  on  foot,  and  every  league  of  its  water  he  navi- 
gated in  frail  canoes  or  crazy  schooners.  Above 
his  tomb  the  northern  pine  should  tower ;  around 
it  the  Michigan  rose  and  the  southern  myrtle  should 
mingle  their  hues  and  unite  their  perfumes. 

The  career  of  La  Salle  forms  a  perfect  counter- 
part to  that  of  the  illustrious  De  Soto,  who,  leaving 
behind  him  Cuba,  of  which  he  was  captain  gen- 
eral, landed  at  Tampa  Bay,  in  the  year  1539,  to  ex- 
plore the  mainland.  For  three  years,  without  sup- 
plies, he  pursued  his  plans,  traversing  poisonous 
swamps  and  burning  sands,  rafting  bayous  and  ford- 
ing rivers,  unwearied,  but  not  unworn.  He  saw  his 
men  perish  around  him  month  after  month  ;  he  was 
incessantly  assailed  by  the  hardy  natives  of  the  re- 
gion ;  he  knew  that  repose  and  riches  awaited  him 


-? 


■*  \^:- 


I 


84 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY   Of    AMERICA. 


in  Cuba  or  in  Spain  ;  but  ho  scorned  to  turn  back 
or  to  confess  a  failure.  At  last,  by  the  great  river 
he  had  discovered,  in  the  shadow  of  the  cross 
ho  had  planted,  he  died  ;  and  the  loyal  remnant  of 
his  once  proud  company  buried  his  body  by  night 
in  the  midst  of  the  stream,  lest  the  savages  should 
devour  it.  Thus  perished  Don  Hernando  de  Soto, 
in  all  great  qualities  the  equal  of  the  most  illustri- 
ous explorers  ;  thus  he  fell  in  the  wilderness,  and 
the  sorrowing  Mississippi  took  him  in  pity  to  her 
breast. 

British  books  of  history  in  general  have  present- 
ed only  two  figures —  Cortez  and  Pizarro  —  as  the 
successors  of  Columbus,  and  all  their  actions  have 
been  painted  in  pitch.  American  history  has  been 
more  just.  Irving,  Bancroft,  and  above  all  Pres- 
cott,  have  done  justice  to  the  noble  Spanish  nation, 
and  even  to  Francisco  Pizarro.  Mr.  Prescott  pref- 
aces his  History  of  the  Conquest  of  Peru  by  an  anal- 
ysis of  the  civilization  of  the  lucas.  That  civiliza- 
tion, poetized  by  the  infidel  Marmontel,  will  be  found 
to  rest  on  fundamental  laws  repugnant  to  all  Chris- 
tian ethics.  Its  worship  was  a  perpetual  human 
sacrifice  ;  its  people  were  held  in  the  darkest  igno- 
rance ;  the  laws  requiring  the  Inca  always  to  marry 
his  sister  established  incest  as  the  condition  of  le- 
gitimacy. Such  was  the  system  ;  and  the  Inca  Pi- 
zarro overthrew  was  undoubtedly  one  of  the  most 
sanguinary  that  ever  sat  on  the  golden  throne  of 
Manco  Capac.  That  guilty  civilization,  I  know,  does 
not  justify  the  cruelties  of  its  conquerors  ;  it  would 


» 

4 


11 


THE   BUCCESSOUS  OP   COLUMllUS. 


85 


4^ 


justify  a  stroni^  find  swoopino^,  l)ut  not  a  bloody  nnd 
l)orli(lioiis  }>oli('y,  rfuch  an  iii  jioiicrul  lM/,arro  pur- 
Huod.  i>ut  it  i.s  not  honost  to  coiiiound  him  with 
Cortoz.  In  his  History  of  the  Con(|UC9t  of  Mexi- 
co, vhe  distiuji;uished  American  historian  han  shown 
that  the  alleged  excessive  cruelties  of  Cortez  havo 
been  much  exagirorated  ;  nor  is  it  p()ssil)le  to  look 
on  the  present  po])ulation  of  ^lexico  and  believo 
that  at  any  time  exterminntion  of  the  natives  was 
the  policy  of  the  conquerors.  The  native  race  still 
remain  to  testify  by  their  overwhelming*  numbers 
to  the  {,'eneral  humanity  of  their  Spanish  invaders. 
But,  whatever  may  be  said  on  this  head,  I  confess  I 
cannot  sec  much  I'cscmblance  in  the  characters  of 
Cortez  and  Pizarro. 

Cortez,  a  don  by  rank,  a  law^yer  by  education, 
landed  on  the  Mexican  coast  in  the  spring  of  1519, 
and  in  the  autumn  of  1521  sat  an  unquestioned  con- 
queror in  the  oft-quoted  "  halls  of  the  Montezumas." 
The  most  brilliant  campaigns  which  the  new  world 
has  seen  were  fought  by  him  in  three  short  summers. 
Cortez  w^as  not  only,  like  the  rest,  brave  as  a  Castil- 
ian,  but  he  was  a  very  able,  and  perhaps  an  origi- 
nal, statesman  ;  he  was,  besides,  a  true  Spanish  ora- 
tor and  a  graceful  and  powerful  writer.  His 
burning  the  ships,  as  soon  as  he  had  landed,  to  cut 
off  every  chance  of  retreat ;  his  coup  d'etat  in  seiz- 
ing the  person  of  the  Aztec  emperor  ;  his  conqucGt 
of  his  rival  Narvaez,  and  incorporation  into  his 
own  ranks  of  the  very  men  sent  to  capture  him,  — 
evince  genius  of  a  high  order.     In  some  qualities 


,'-v 


36 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OF   AMERICA. 


1i)( 


he  is,  perhaps,  the  greatest  character  that  ever  stood 
on  the  soil  of  the  new  world,  either  at  the  north,  or 
the  south,  or  the  centre. 

Of  the  conqueror  of  Peru  it  is  impossible  to  speak 
in  terms  of  forbearance.  Base  by  birth,  and  unfor- 
tunate in  all  his  early  career,  he  landed  with  some 
two  hundred  men  on  the  Pacific  coast,  in  1532,  to 
undertake  the  conquest  of  Peru.  He  succeeded,  not 
by  a  series  of  fierce  battles  or  wise  precautions,  but 
by  the  coup  of  Caxamalca.  In  one  year  he  had 
seized  the  Inca,  executed  him,  and  divided  fifteen 
and  a  half  millions  of  gold  and  silver  spoils  between 
the  crown  and  his  own  followers.  He  died  in  1541, 
by  the  hand  of  an  assassin,  in  his  palace  at  Lima, 
after  having  reached  the  rank  he  so  much  coveted 
—  Viceroy  of  Peru.  Between  him  and  Cortez  there 
are  more  points  of  difference  than  of  resemblance. 
The  main  likeness  is  in  this  —  that  both  with  small 
forces  conquered  populous  regions  in  the  same  age 
and  quarter  of  the  world.  But  Hernando  Cortez 
was  the  first,  was  an  original,  and  had  many  pecu- 
liar difficulties  to  overcome.  The  Aztec  policy  and 
paganism  were  of  hardier  growth  than  the  Peruvi- 
an ;  the  resistance  of  Mexico  was  more  formidable 
than  that  of  Cuzco  or  Quito.  Cortez  was  a  schol- 
ar, a  cavalier  trained  in  the  old  Spanish  school  ;  he 
was  naturally  generous  and  merciful,  if  we  judge 
him  by  facts,  not  by  the  prejudiced  portraits  of  Eng- 
lish historians,  who  have  never  forgiven  Spain  for 
the  Armada  ;  or  by  French  infidels,  who  have  never 
forgiven  her  for  her  orthodoxy. 


THE  SUCCESSORS  OF  COLUMBUS. 


87 


PizaiTO,  on  the  other  hand,  is  an  exception  to  all 
the  Spanish  captains.  Born  a  bastard,  he  was  reared 
a  foundling  ;  untaught  to  read  or  write,  the  stand- 
ing target  of  faction,  with  no  true  friends  but  his 
own  wit  and  courage,  he  triumphed  by  cruelty ; 
he  fell  by  assassination.  I  say  that  he  is  no  fair 
type  of  tlie  class  I  speak  of :  he  stands  alone,  and 
owes  his  sad  celebrity  partly  to  the  fact  that  he 
does  stand  alone.  Unlike  Nunez  in  humanity,  un- 
like Cortcz  in  statesmanship,  unlike  De  Soto  in 
chivalry,  he  cannot  be  correctly  said  to  belong  in 
spirit  to  the  first  discoverers  ;  nor  can  it  be  shown 
that  he  formed  any  school  of  his  own.  I  would  fain 
make  this  distinction  clearly  understood,  for  the  sake 
of  the  truth  of  history. 

While  I  have  not  felt  free  to  denounce  the  whole 
Spanish  race  for  the  sins  of  some  of  their  first 
chiefs  and  settlers,  neither  must  you  understand  me 
as  justifying  all  their  actions.  Their  colonial  sys- 
tem was  unquestionably  very  liable  to  abuse,  as  ^ 
may  show  when  I  come  to  contrast  it  with  the 
French  system,  in  the  missionary  period  of  this 
history.  I  speak  at  present  only  of  the  first  cap- 
tains ;  and  I  solemnly  protest  against  accepting 
a  Pizarro  or  an  Ovando  as  a  representative  of  the 
Catholic  leaders  of  American  discovery.  Ojeda, 
Vasco  Nunez,  Cortez,  De  Soto,  Cabot,  Cartier, 
Champlain,  La  Salle,  —  why  are  they  forgotten  or 
unstudied  ?  In  all  tliat  distinguishes  human  nature 
—  as  courage,  energy,  fortitude  —  they  were  con- 
spicuous ;  in  piety,  virtue,  integrity,  they  will  bear 

"4 


38 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OP  AMERICA. 


comparison  witli  any  equal  number  of  the  world's 
great  men.  Pizarro  is  not  of  them  —  Ovando  is 
not  of  them.  They  were  not  free  from  faults  ;  but 
neither  did  their  faults  outnumber  their  virtues. 
They  were  a  brood  of  eagles,  emigrating  farther 
and  farther  into  the  wilderness  as  population 
sounded  from  behind.  Most  of  them  died  in  the 
regions  they  had  marked  out  for  their  own.  None 
of  them  fared  better  than  Columbus  —  none  of 
them  ruled  in  their  posterity.  In  the  islands  or  on 
Terra  Firma,  with  two  exceptions,  their  unknown 
graves  are  scattered  in  solitary  places,  and  the 
names  they  dreamed  to  make  immortal  are  now 
almost  unknown.  "  The  last  have  become  first,  and 
the  first  have  become  last." 


V 


III.-THE  ABORIGIA^ES  AND  MISSIONARIES. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
North  America  —  to  which  we  will  hereafter  con- 
fine the  subject  —  was  claimed  in  parcels  by  Spain, 
Prance,  England,  and  Holland.  The  exact  civil 
boundaries  of  each  power  at  that  period  cannot  be 
traced,  from  their  constant  fluctuations  and  the  fre- 
quent disputes  between  the  parent  countries.  In  the 
present  discourse  we  shall  consider  each  religion  in 
its  relations  to  the  aborigines.  The  Catholic  colo- 
nies come  first  in  order  of  time.  Let  us  ask  at  the 
outset.  Was  the  colonial  system  of  Spain  or  France 
favorable,  or  the  reverse,  to  missionary  enterprise  ? 
I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  the  Spanish 
system  was  unfavorable,  and  that  most  of  the  re- 
ligious good  done  in  New  Spain  was  done  not  only 
without,  but  against,  the  influence  of  the  Spanish 
crown.  Ferdinand  of  Arragon,  a  thorough  world- 
ling in  politics  and  in  philosophy,  after  the  death 
of  "  the  Catholic  "  wrung  by  concordat  from  Rome 
the  nomination  of  all  the  bishops,  and,  through  the 
bishops,  of  all  the  cures  of  New  Spain.  He  already 
held  its  whole  soil  in  fee  for  the  crown  ;  he  now 
claimed  and  obtained,  on  certain  conditions,  tho 

(39) 


40 


CATHOLIC  HISTORY  OF  AMERICA. 


right  to  control  and  farm  all  its  ecclesiastical  rev- 
enues. Practically  these  concessions  made  him  the 
head  of  the  Spanish  American  church  —  an  evil 
headship,  from  the  effects  of  which  that  church  has 
never  recovered.  Further :  his  claiming  the  per- 
petual fee  of  the  soil  was  unfavorable  to  the  free 
emigration  of  a  European  laity.  It  was  favorable 
only  to  the  emigration  of  officials  or  the  exporta- 
tion of  convicts.  As  Dr.  Robertson  remarks,  "  The 
colonies  were  kept  in  a  state  of  perpetual  pupilage," 
while  "  the  prisons  of  Spain  were  drained  "  to  re- 
cruit them.  We  learn,  hardly  without  surprise,  that, 
"  sixty  years  after  the  discovery  of  the  new  world, 
the  number  of  Spaniards  in  all  its  provinces  is  com- 
puted not  to  have  exceeded  Jif teen  thousand  J'*  Thus 
royal  avarice  defeated  itself  and  created  innumera- 
ble impediments  for  religion. 

The  colonial  svstem  of  France  was  much  more 
favorable  to  missions  than  the  Spanish  system.  The 
king  had  originally  granted  the  viceroyalty  of  New 
France  to  the  Prince  of  Conde,  who  in  1620  sold  it 
to  the  Marshal  de  Montmorenci ;  from  whom  again 
it  was  purchased  by  Henry  de  Levi,  Duke  de  Ven- 
tadour,  at  the  time  a  novice  of  the  company  of 
Jesus.  Richelieu  transferred  it  again  to  a  company 
called  the  Company  of  one  Hundred  Associates, 
under  whom  both  Acadia  and  Canada  began  to 
flourish.  But  throughout,  though  the  French  crown 
claimed  the  fee  of  the  soil,  its  policy  was  always  to 


•  Robertson's  America,  book  viiiv  p.  92. 


.■•* 


THE   ABORIGIXES   AND   MISSIONARIES. 


41 


grant  large  tracts  to  pcigncurs — a  policy  not  unfavor- 
able to  the  settlciuent  of  new  colonies.  The  bish- 
ops also  had  seigueurial  rights,  but  were,  especially 
during*  the  long  reign  of  Louis  XIV.,  directly  de- 
pendent on  the  crown.  Some  of  tlic  religious  houses 
—  as  the  Sulpicians  of  Montreal  —  had  similar  rights, 
and  were  thereby  enabled  to  undertake  distant  en- 
terprises and  to  found  extensive  establishments  for 
educational  purposes.  It  is  true  nevertheless,  both 
of  New  France  and  New  Spain,  that  the  religious 
orders,  unaided  and  unendowed  by  the  parent  state, 
effected  more  than  the  secular  clergy  and  their  am- 
ply endowed  establishments  combined. 

Wc  have  already  seen  that,  within  tAvo  months 
after  Columbus's  return,  the  pope  had  charged  the 
Spanish  sovereigns,  in  the  bull  inter  cetera^  to  send  out 
to  the  newly-discovered  countries  "  tried  men,  who 
fear  God,  and  skilful  and  expert  to  instruct  the  inhab- 
itants in  the  Catholic  faith  and  teach  them  good 
morals."  Julius  II.  and  all  subsequent  popes  were 
equally  zealous  for  the  salvation  of  the  same  race, 
of  which  the  memorable  bull  of  Pope  Pa- 1  III., 
issued  in  1537,  declaring  them  to  be  rationa.  crea- 
tures, entitled  to  all  the  sacraments  of  religion,  is 
a  crowning  proof.*  Columbus  himself  was  most 
desirous  for  the  conversion  of  the  Indians,  in  which, 
desire  he  was  cordially  seconded  by  Queen  Isabella. 
"  She  was  filled,"  Fays  Mr.  Irving,  "  with  a  pious 
zeal  at  the  idea  of  effecting  such  a  work  of  salva- 


♦  See  Appendix  No.  III. 

4* 


42 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OF  AMERICA. 


tion."  For  the  six  Indians  first  presented  at  court 
she  stood  godmother.  "  Isabella,  from  the  first," 
adds  Irving,  "  took  the  most  warm  and  compassion- 
ate interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  Indians.  She 
ordered  that  great  care  should  be  taken  of  their 
religious  instruction ;  that  they  should  be  treated 
with  the  utmost  kindness  ;  an'd  enjoined  Columbus 
to  inflict  signal  punishment  on  all  Spaniards  who 
should  be  guilty  of  outrage  or  injustice  towards 
them."  On  the  second  voyage,  twelve  zealous  and 
able  priests,  under  the  Right  Rev.  Bernardo  Boyle  as 
vicar  apostolic,  commenced  the  work  of  religion  by 
consecrating  a  chapel  at  Isabella,  in  Hayti,  on  the 
feast  of  the  Epiphany,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1494. 
That  is  the  historical  date  of  the  Catholic  religion 
in  the  new  world.  The  new  vicar  apostolic  did  not 
long  remain,  as  we  have  before  said,  in  Hayti :  after 
a  year's  sojourn  he  sailed  for  Spain,  and  did  not  re- 
turn. The  seven  following  years  the  islands  were 
left  without  any  regular  ecclesiastical  head,  until, 
in  1501,  Bishop  de  Espinal,  "a  venerable  and  pious 
man,"  with  twelve  Franciscan  fathers,  was  sent  out 
to  conduct  the  missions.  In  the  next  year  Father 
Bartholomew  Las  Casas,  a  Dominican,  entered  on 
the  American  mission.  *'  The  whole  of  his  future 
life,  a  space  exceeding  sixty  years,  was  devoted  to 
vindicating  the  cause  and  endeavoring  to  meliorate 
the  sufferings  of  the  natives.  As  a  missionary  he 
traversed  the  wilderness  of  the  new  world  in  vari- 
ous directions,  seeking  to  convert  and  civilize  them  ; 
as  a  protector  and  champion  he  made  several  voy- 


t 


THE  ABORIGINES  AND   MISSIONARIES. 


43 


ages  to  Spain,  vindicated  their  wrongs  before  courts 
and  monarclis,  wrote  volumes  in  their  behalf,  and 
exhibited  a  zeal,  and  constancy,  and  intrepidity 
worthy  of  an  apostle.  lie  died  at  the  advanced 
age  of  ninety-two,  and  was  buried  at  Madrid,  in 
the  Church  of  the  Dominican  convent  of  Atocha,  of 
which  fraternity  he  was  a  member."  * 

Upon  one  of  Las  Casas's  complaints  of  injustice 
to  the  Indians,  (A.  D.  1516,)  a  commission,  composed 
of  Hieronymite  monks,  was  sent  out  by  the  regent, 
Cardinal  Ximenes,  to  inquire  into  the  grievances 
of  tlie  aborigines.  This  commission  is  a  remarkable 
link  in  our  chain  of  evidence.  All  historians  speak 
in  the  highest  terms  of  the  discretion  and  justice 
of  the  Hieronymites.  "  The  exercise  of  their  powers 
at  San  Domingo  made  a  great  sensation  in  the  new 
world,  and  for  a  time  had  a  beneficial  effect  in 
checking  the  oppressive  and  licentious  conduct  of 
the  colonists."!  The  same  illustrious  cardinal 
"  peremptorily  "  rejected,  according  to  Robertson, 
applications  for  licenses  to  import  African  slaves 
into  the  colony  —  thus  honorably  connecting  his 
name  by  a  double  service  to  humanity  with  our 
earliest  civilization. 

We  may  mention  here  another  historical  Domini- 
can—  Father  Olmedo,  chaplain  to  Cortez.  Mr. 
Prescott  represents  him  as  the  good  genius  of  the 
expedition  ;  as  wise  as  benevolent ;  "  beautifully 
illustrating  in  his  conduct  the  precepts  which  he 


*  Irving's  Columbus,  vol.  iii. ;  Appendix,  p.  416. 
t  Irving,  vol.  iii.  p.  237. 


44 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY   OF  AMERICA. 


!'■ 


taujxlit ;  "  as  one  who,  "  if  lie  followed  the  banners 
of  the  warrior,  it  was  to  mitigate  the  ferocity  of 
w^ar,  and  to  turn  the  triumphs  of  the  cross  to  a  good 
account  for  the  natives  themselves,  by  the  spiritual 
labors  of  conversion."  After  the  conquest  of  the 
city  tlie  same  author  adds,  "  The  missionaries  lost 
no  time  in  the  good  work  of  conversion.  They  be- 
gan their  preaching  through  interpreters  until  they 
had  acquired  a  competent  knowledge  of  the  language 
themselves.  They  opened  schools  and  founded  col- 
leges, in  which  the  native  youth  were  instructed  in 
profane  as  well  as  Christian  learning."  Twenty 
years  after  the  conquest  Father  Toribio  "  could  make 
the  pious  vaunt  that  *  nine  millions  of  converts  had 
been  admitted  within  the  Christian  fold.' "  In  the 
much  diminished  territory  of  Mexico  as  it  is,  there 
were,  in  1850,  four  millions  of  Indian  Christians, 
practical  or  nominal,  two  millions  of  mixed  race,  and 
one  million  three  hundred  thousand  of  European 
descent.  If  populousness  be,  as  Lord  Sacon  says,  a 
test  of  civil  society,  the  preservation  of  the  aborigi- 
nes may  certainly  be  called  so,  and  be  adduced  as 
a  proof  of  Spanish  tolerance.  The  aborigines  are 
still  there ;  they  are  not  exterminated  ;  they  are 
Christians,  w4io  live  more  or  less  up  to  that  high 
and  holy  standard  ;  they  present  in  Mexico,  at  this 
hour,  a  living  monument  of  the  saving  spirit  of 
Catholic  civilization.* 


*  In  £1  lecture  on  Mexico,  delivered  at  St.  Patrick's  Church,  Buffalo, 
on  the  25th  of  September,  1853,  by  the  venerable  Bishop  Tiraon,  who 
had  lately  passed  sonio  months  in  that  country,  he  observed,  — 


THE  AIJOIIIGINES   AND  MISSIONARIES. 


45 


Conncctod  "witli  the  INIexiean  missions,  I  miglit 
mention  those  of  the  Jesuits  m  Calilbrniii  wliich 
still  ha])pily  exist,  and  wliieli  were  the  only  centres 
of  civilization  '.  ^forc-thc  discovery  of  tlic  gold 
mines.  Anciently  California  vras  included  under  the 
name  of  Mexico,  and  is,  I  presume,  comprised  in  the 
general  results  I  have  given.  One  fact  peculiar  to 
that  region  ought,  however,  to  be  mentioned.  Father 
Picola,  who  was  there  a  century  and  a  half  ago, 
was  not  unaware  of  the  treasures  it  contained.  "  I 
have  no  dourbt,"  he  wrote  to  the  Mexican  govern- 
ment in  1702,  "  that  most  valuable  mines  might  bo 
discovered  in  many  places  were  they  but  sought  for ; 
since  this  country  is  under  the  same  physical  influ- 
ences as  Cinaloa  and  Sonora,  which  are  so  richly 
veined  with  tbo  precious  metals."  He  had  no  doubt 
gold  was  there  ;  but  for  his  part  he  was  better  em- 
ployed than  to  prospect  for  it  —  unlike  those  Episco- 
palian ministers  of  our  own  day  whoso  mining  zeal 
and  missionary  languor  have  been  so  eloquently  de- 


m 


"An  evil  now,  as  formerly,  exists  in  Mexico,  and  might  account 
for  much  relaxation  of  discipline.  Bishops  are  too  few  ;  it  is  morally 
and  physically  impossible  for  them  to  fulfil  the  duties  of  their  office. 
France  has  seventy-seven  bishops  and  fourteen  archbishops ;  Ireland, 
■with  seven  millions  of  Catholics  and  a  territory  not  more  extensive 
than  a  single  diocese  of  Mexico,  has  four  archbishops  and  twenty-four 
bishops  ;  and  Mexico,  with  se-cn  or  eight  millions  of  Catholics  and  a 
territory  so  vast,  has  only  one  archbishop  and  nine  bishoprics,  with 
actually  only  six  bishops,  the  former  incumbents  being  dead.  Of  tho 
last  four  bishops  of  Guadalajara,  but  one,  during  a  very  long  adminis- 
tration, was  able  once,  and  only  once,  to  visit  all  his  diocese  ;  the  other 
three  visited  but  a  small  part ;  the  whole  four  died  on  the  visit  —  one  a3 
he  completed  it,  the  others  as  they  labored  along  it." 


■■^V^M^I 


4' 


<MA4 


46 


CATHOLIC   IlISTORV  OF  AMERICA. 


plorcd  in  the  convention  of  their  sect  lately  sitting 
in  New  York.* 

Against  the  civilizing  cUccts  of  the  Spanish  mis- 
sions the  wild  life  led  by  the  mounted  tribes  of  Texas 
(Camanches  and  Apaches)  has  been  sometimes  cited. 


*  The  Protestant  Episcopal  Convention  for  18  Ji3.  At  this  conven- 
tion Dr.  Kip,  author  of  '•  The  Jesuits  in  America,"  was  appointed  their 
bishop  in  California.  Hero  we  may  mention  that,  after  the  Provincial 
Council  of  1852,  San  Francisco  was  raised  by  the  holy  sec  to  the  dig- 
nity of  a  metropolitan  church,  and  the  first  bishop  of  Monterey,  the 
Right  Ilev.  Joseph  AUemany,  translated  thereto.  It  may  not  be  con- 
sidered amiss  if  we  put  on  record  in  this  place  an  extract  as  to  the  ori- 
gin of  San  Francisco  from  one  of  the  newspapers  (the  Golden  Era) 
now  published  in  that  city  :  — 

"  How  great,"  exclaims  this  writer,  "  are  the  changes  in  the  womb 
of  Time !  Upon  the  27th  of  June,  1776,  seventy-seven  years  ago,  San 
Francisco  first  became  known  in  history.  Father  Junipero  de  Laru, 
one  whose  name  and  deeds  in  Upper  California  have  secured  the  prond- 
est  niche  in  its  history,  —  one  whoso  monument  should  stand  in  the 
first  place  in  our  public  square,  as  a  testimonial  of  respect,  — landed  at 
this  place,  accompanied  by  a  few  settlers  from  Sonora.  Was  it  the  de- 
sire of  gold  that  attracted  him  hither  ?  Certainly  not.  Was  it  tho 
desire  to  take  possession  of  its  property  ?  No.  Was  it  the  desire  to 
live  independent  of  Mexico  ?  No ;  none  of  these.  It  was  to  make 
spiritual  conquests  —  to  reduce  the  savage  to  the  yoke  of  Christ  —  to 
illustrate  the  doctrines  of  the  true  God  in  his  own  life  and  precepts. 
And  fully  he  accomplished  the  task.  Look  at  that  old  Preside  and 
that  venerable  Mission  of  Dolores,  and  behold  the  first  house  erected. 
These  are  his  handiwork.  San  Francisco  has  this  at  least  to  boast  of, 
that  the  first  building  erected  within  it  was  dedicated  to  God's  worship 
under  the  patronage  of  St.  Francis. 

"  The  Mission  Dolores  was  founded  on  the  8th  of  October,  1776. 
Its  population  was  composed  of  a  few  soldiers  at  the  preside.  In  1836 
the  first  house  within  the  limits  of  the  city  was  erected  by  S.  P.  Lery, 
an  American,  on  Dupont  Street.  At  this  time  there  were  fifteen  sol- 
diers at  the  military  post,  under  the  command  of  Gamazonila  Flores  ; 
while  at  the  Mission  Dolores  the  population  of  emigrants  and  their 
descendants  was  about  sixty-four  souls,  exclusive  of  Indians," 


: 


.     i' 


THE  ABORIGINES  AND   MISSIONARIES. 


47 


i 


And  wlio  rises  to  accuse  llicin  ?  The  whiles  in  Tex- 
as arc  surely  not  blameless  for  the  state  of  things 
as  they  are.  The  most  distinguished  of  their  num- 
ber —  General  Houston  —  has  assured  mo  that  the 
Indians  "  never  were  tlic  first  to  break  the  treaties." 
lie  is  an  unimpeaclialde  witness ;  for  he  has  been  a 
chief  amono;  the  savao-cs  and  a  lawgiver  of  tlio 
whites.  Besides,  wo  know  that  "  tlie  Indian  mis- 
sions," with  their  schools  and  chapels,  Avere  long 
since  wasted  by  the  North  Americans  settled  in 
Texas.  In  the  neighborhood  of  San  Antonio  de 
Bexar  the  painful  evidence  is  displayed  to  every 
passer  by,  in  the  desertion  and  destruction  of  the 
once  flourishing  schools  of  "  Concepcion  "  and  "  San 
Jose."  The  nopal  and  the  peach  now  ripen  on  tho 
ruins  of  those  establishments  ;  Italian  columns  lie 
prone  on  the  earth  ;  and  Seville  bells  swing  with  the 
wind  in  roofless  belfries.  It  does  not  well  become 
those  who  have  made  such  ruins  to  arise  in  accusa- 
tion against  the  Camanches. 

The  early  Dominican  and  Jesuit  missionaries  in 
Florida  are  worthy  of  special  remembrance.  The 
first  fathers  of  whom  mention  is  made  were  two 
who  loft  Spain  in  1547,  armed  with  an  ordinance 
that  all  natives  of  Florida  held  as  slaves  in  the 
islands  since  De  Soto's  expedition  should  be  liber- 
ated. Soon  after  reaching  Florida  they  were  scalped 
and  eaten  by  the  savages.  In  1565  Father  Marti- 
nez, the  first  Jesuit  who  entered  the  same  territory, 
shared  the  same  fate.    In  1578  three  more  of  the 


48 


CATHOLIC    HISTORY   OV   AMEUIC.'.. 


same  order  porishod  in  tlio  samo  manner.  But  after 
a  lon«»'  and  Ibrocious  existence,  extending-  till  tlio 
bej^inning  of  the  next  eentnry,  it  ^vas  given  to  tho 
reformed  Franciseans  to  convert  Florida.  Chris- 
tianity for  a  while  reigned  over  the  everglades,  and 
its  solemn  hymns  resounded  from  many  belfries  be- 
sides those  of  St.  Augustine.  Colonial  warfare, 
inhuman  trallic,  and  Protestant  persecution  at  last 
blighted  the  growing  good  and  cllaced  the  glorious 
work  so  bravely  commenced  and  so  fearlessly 
carried  forward  in  all  the  provinces  of  New 
Spain.* 

Tho  northern  missions,  interrupted  by  the  first 
capture  of  Quebec  in  1629,  were  resumed  by  the 
Jesuits  immediately  on  its  restoration.  From  that 
event  till  the  Iroquois  war  there  were  ten  years 
of  peace  and  missionary  triumph.  "  Within  ten 
years,"  says  Dr.  O'Callaghan,  "  they  had  completed 
the  examination  of  the  country  from  Lake  Superior 
to  the  gulf,  and  founded  several  villages  of  Chris- 


•  **  From  tho  accounts  which  I  have  given  of  the  humane  and  per- 
severing zeal  of  tho  Spanish  missionaries,  in  protecting  the  helpless 
flock  committed  to  their  charge,  tlicy  appear  ;.. ..  I'ght  which  reflects 
lustre  upon  their  function.  They  were  ministers  of  peace,  who  en- 
deavored to  wrest  tlie  rod  from,  the  hands  of  oppressors.  To  their 
powerful  interposition  tho  Americans  were  indebted  for  every  regula- 
tion tending  to  mitigate  the  rigor  of  their  fute.  Tho  clergy  in  the 
Spanish  settlements,  regular  as  well  as  seculur,  are  still  considered  by 
the  Indians  as  their  natural  guardians,  to  whom  they  have  recourse 
imder  the  hardships  and  exactions  to  which  they  are  too  often  ex- 
posed."—  Robertson's  .4wen'cfir,  book  "viii.  p.  249.  London  edition  of 
Jones  and  Co.,  182G. 


\ 


THE  AIJOUIGINES   AND   MISSIONAIIIES. 


49 


tiiin  neophytes  on  the  borders  of  the  upper  lakes. 
AVhilo  the  intercourse  of  the  Dutcli  was  yet  con- 
lined  to  the  Indians  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Orange, 
and  live  years  before  Kliot,  of  New  Kn^'hind,  hud 
addressed  a  single  word  to  the  Indians,  within  six 
miles  of  Boston  Harbor  tho  French  missionaries 
planted  the  cross  at  Sault  Stc.  Marie,  whence  they 
looked  down  on  the  Sioux  country  and  the  valley 
of  the  Mississippi."  * 

In  the  midst  of  these  successes  "  tho  Iroquois  war  " 
broke  out  —  a  war  in  which  paganism,  incited  and 
armed  by  Protestantism,  furiously  assailed  the  only 
Christian  missionaries  who  had  yet  ventured  into 
the  depths  of  the  forest.  "  The  war,"  says  Mr. 
Shea,  "  proved  fatal  to  the  allies  of  the  French.  In 
1650  Upper  Canada  was  a  desert ;  and  not  a  mission, 
not  a  single  Indian,  was  to  be  found  where  but  a 
few  years  before  the  cross  towered  in  each  of  their 
many  villages  and  hundreds  of  fervent  Christians 
gathered  round  their  fifteen  missions."  f  Six  fa- 
thers had  won  tho  martyr's  crown  ;  one  was  muti- 
lated for  life  ;  and  some  of  those  who  escaped  had 
only  defer,  od  their  time  a  few  years  later.  In  the 
massacre  the  missions  in  the  western  part  of  New 
York  were  destroyed  and  Father  Garnier  put  to 
death.  Father  Isaac  Jogues,  illustrious  for  courage 
and  sufferings,  escaped  with  mutilation,  returned  to 


*  O'Callaghan's  Doc.  History  of  New  York,  vol.  i. 
t  Shea's  Exploration  of  the  Mibsissippi. 


5 


t-y-y 


50 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OF   AMERICA. 


France,  but,  burning  with  predestined  zeal,  came 
back  some  years  after,  and  met  his  heroic  death  in 
the  Mohawk  valley.  This  mission  notwithstanding 
was  reopened  again  and  again  until  the  state 
passed  into  English  hands,  when  the  penal  laws 
were  most  rigorously  enforced. 

The  martyrdom  of  Lallemand  and  Bro3beuf  upon 
Lake  Huron  deserves  to  be  cited.  In  the  winter  of 
1649  their  missionary  village  was  captured  by  a  war 
party  of  pagan  Iroquois  armed  with  Dutch  fire- 
locks. Incisions  were  made  in  their  flesh,  in  which 
redhot  iron  was  thrust ;  and  one  of  them,  Lallemand, 
had  his  eyes  torn  out  and  two  burning  coals  fixed 
in  the  bleeding  sockets.  The  Christian  Indians,  at- 
tempting to  rescue  their  apostles,  were  defeated. 
One  of  tho  chiefs  counselled  retreat ;  but  another 
nobly  made  answer,  "  What  I  shall  we  abandon 
these  kind  teachers,  who  have  perilled  their  lives  in 
our  behalf?  Their  desire  for  our  salvation  will  bo 
the  cause  of  their  death.  There  is  now  no  time  for 
their  escape  through  the  snow.  Let  us  die  with 
them  and  bear  them  company  to  heaven."  This 
was  the  declaration  of  a  Huron  chief,  uttered  cen- 
turies ago  in  the  teeth  of  a  victorious  majority  —  a 
declaration  which  raises  him  in  true  heroism  far 
above  those  quasi  Catholics  of  our  own  day  who 
attempt  to  conciliate  by  compromising  the  known 
truth.  If  ever  trials  of  life  and  death  should  come 
again  for  the  church  in  America,  may  there  be  found 
a  laity  to  say  with  the  Huron  chief  of  the  priest- 


THE  ABORIGINES  AND  MISSIOXARIES. 


61 


) 
1 


hood,  "  Let  us  die  with  them  and  bear  them  com- 
pany to  lieaven."* 

It  would  be  impossible  to  particularize  the  other 
martyrdoms  which  are  on  record  as  occurring  in  the 
north  and  west  in  the  early  Indian  wars. 

The  massacre  of  the  Christian  neopliytes,  includ- 
ing Fathers  Du  Poisson  and  Sorel,  by  the  Natchez 
tribe,  1729,  was  almost  equal  in  atrocity  to  the 
Iroquois  martyrdom.  The  memory  of  these  illus-" 
trious  martyrs  dwells  upon  the  Mississippi  as  that 
of  Lallemand  at  the  Sault,  of  Jogues  in  the  valley 
of  the  Mohawk,  and  Easles  on  the  Penobscot 
River.  No  American  Catholic  can  ever  behold 
without  admiration  those  scenes  of  true  glory,  nor 
hear  even  their  names  mentioned  without  emotion. 

Shall  I  seek  to  name  the  chief  apostles  of  Indian 
nations  —  Jogues  and  Le  Moyne  of  the  Iroquois ;  the 
martyrs  I  have  just  mentioned  among  the  Hurons  ; 
Allouez,  the  apostle  of  Lake  Superior  ;  Granier  of 
the  Illinois  ;  Marquette  of  Michigan  ;  Gravier  of 
the  Miamis  ;  Guignas  of  Wisconsin ;  BouUanger  of 
the  Choctaws ;  De  Guyenne  of  the  Alabamas ; 
White  of  the  Susquehannas  ;  Rasles  of  the  Abnakis ; 
and  Marest  of  Labrador?  Some  others,  equal  in 
services  and  in  sufferings,  might  be  called  up  ;  but 
these  will  sufiice  as  representatives  of  the  Jesuits 
in  America.  From  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth 
century  till  the  suppression  of  that  illustrious  order, 


*  For  an  illustration  of  the  effects  of  the  missions  on  the  Indian 
females,  see  Appendix  No.  V. 


62 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OF  AMERICA. 


I  f 


it  gave  to  America  the  most  learned,  intrepid,  pious, 
and  laborious  body  of  pioneers  and  teachers  that 
ever  stood  on  the  soil  of  this  continent.  I  will  go 
further.  I  will  say,  that,  in  the  whole  history  of 
Christian  missions,  there  is  not  to  be  found  a  class 
of  apostles  superior  in  the  main  to  the  first  Amer- 
ican Jesuits. 

In  Lower  Canada  their  missions  were  most  nu- 
merous ;  in  Upper  Canada  they  had  fifteen  fathers  ; 
in  the  Illinois  country  three  ;  in  Arkansas,  Wiscon- 
sin, Alabama,  and  Carolina,  one  each  ;  in  Louisiana, 
some  six  or  ten  ;  in  all,  before  the  suppression,  prob- 
ably fifty  fixed  missions,  with  central  points  in  Aca- 
dia, at  Quebec,  Three  Rivers,  Detroit,  Mackinac, 
Kaskaskia,  St.  Louis,  Natchez,  and  New  Orleans. 
Throughout  all  this  immense  region,  from  gulf  to 
gulf,  opportunities  of  conversion  were  ojBfered  to  all 
the  barbarous  native  nations  long  before  a  Protes- 
tant preacher  had  ventured  a  hundred  miles  from 
any  Dutch  or  English  fortress  on  a  similar  errand. 
When  at  length  the  French  infidels  triumphed  over 
the  Jesuits,  in  1763,  the  missions  of  North  America 
lost  their  best  supplies.  It  is  very  true  that  others 
were  not  wanting  to  take  their  place  ;  but  none  had 
equal  success.  After  the  happy  restoration  by 
Pope  Pius  VII.,  the  Jesuits  again  appeared  in  Can- 
ada, on  the  Kennebec,  at  the  Sault  Sto.  Marie,  and 
beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains.  In  those  far  regions 
Fatherb  De  Smet,  Accolti,  and  Barraga,  our  own 
contemporaries,  have  proved  themselves  not  un- 
worthy of  the  traditions  of  their  order. 


THE  ABORIGINES  AND  MISSIONARIES. 


53 


i 


it 


Among  the  efforts  of  our  missionaries  for  Indian 
civilization  I  have  placed  first  their  religious  ser- 
vices, because  these  almost  equally  benefit  the  indi- 
vidual, the  family,  and  society  at  large.  To  com- 
prehend their  real  value,  we  must  imagine  what  was 
the  superstition  they  had  to  displace.  The  belief 
in  manitous,  or  spirits,  inhabiting  animals  and  pro- 
tecting or  cursing  men,  was  general  throughout 
North  America ;  human  sacrifices  were  also  gen- 
eral ;  the  power  of  the  medicine  men  was  arbitrary 
for  life  or  death  ;  polygamy  prevailed  among  the 
Illinois ;  and  indiscriminate  intercourse,  to  some  ex- 
tent, among  all  the  tribes.  It  was  a  superstition 
without  mercy,  without  morality,  without  remorse  ; 
ander  its  sway  no  mental  or  social  culture  was 
possible.  Against  this  terrible  barbarism  Spain 
and  France,  north  and  south,  put  forth  their  power 
and  their  missionaries ;  and  the  valleys  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi and  the  St.  Lawrence,  the  prairies  of  Illi- 
nois and  the  borders  of  the  great  lakes,  in  one 
short  century,  were  in  a  fair  way  of  witnessing  a 
permanent  Indian  civilization. 

To  say  that  all  attempts  at  civilization  must  be- 
gin with  a  religion,  true  or  false,  is  to  say,  in  other 
words,  that  the  brain  and  heart  are  the  seats  of  life 
and  sense.  Our  Catholic  missionaries,  without  an 
exception,  began  with  the  head  and  heart  of  the 
Indian.  Catechetical  instruction,  by  words,  signs, 
writings,  and  pictures,  was  in  every  instance  the 
first  undertaking  of  the  black  robe.  Baptism  was 
not  conferred  but  with  great  care  and  after  long 


5 


% 


64 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OF   AMERICA. 


probation  :  it  was  given  to  adults  on,  among  other 
conditions,  that  of  being  immediately  followed  by 
matrimony  —  thus  laying  the  sacred  foundations  of 
the  family  institute.  Penance  supervised  and  con- 
ducted the  moral  progress  of  the  baptized  at  regular 
intervals.  Without  this  sacrament  of  revision  and 
of  reunion,  it  seems  to  be  morally  impossible  that 
a  pagan  people  could  be  confirmed  in  their  new 
Christianity  or  conducted  steadily  by  its  spirit. 
My  first  inference,  then,  is  this  —  that  the  Catholic 
system  and  discipline  was  the  best  suited  to  convert 
the  Indian  nations. 

Not  only  the  spirit,  but  also  the  forms  of  our  dis- 
cipline, appear  to  me  indispensable  to  this  end. 
Fervid  extempore  appeals  from  the  altar  were  more 
likely  to  affect  a  nation  of  orators  than  the  cold 
and  formal  essays  of  the  sectarian  ministers.  If 
oratory  failed,  the  Indian  could  be  taken  by  the 
eye  ;  to  which  sense  the  pictures  of  saints,  the  lights 
upon  the  altar,  the  sacred  vessels  glistening  like 
stars  in  the  darkened  chapel,  all  addressed  them- 
selves. The  eye  is  ever  the  sense  most  powerful  in 
savages.  Many  tribes,  though  not  all,  were  likewise 
fond  of  music.  The  Hurons  delighted  in  music,  the 
Ottawas  did  not ;  the  same  difference  existed  be- 
tween the  Algonquins  and  the  Iroquois.  Now,  those 
nations  most  partial  to  music  were  soonest  converted 
and  easiest  confirmed.  Whole  Indian  congrega- 
tions sung  aloud  the  responses  at  certain  parts  of 
the  mass  ;  and  their  hymns  and  dances  in  honor  of 
the  Blessed  Virgin  are  mentioned  by  every  mis- 


THE   ABORIGINES  AND   MISSIONARIES. 


55 


eionary.  The  beating  of  the  breast,  the  ringing  of 
the  bell,  and  the  ascent  of  the  incense,  all  had 
charms  and  attractions  for  these  simple-hearted  cat- 
echumens. I  know  that  some  writers  pretend  to 
condemn  such  display  as  inconsistent  with  the  sim- 
plicity of  the  worship  due  to  God  from  his  crea- 
tures ;  as  if  the  incense  the  Almighty  made  was  too 
precious  for  its  Maker,  or  the  gold  he  scattered 
through  the  earth  too  bright  to  adorn  the  temples 
of  the  Scatterer  !  The  same  objection  was  made  of 
old  to  Magdalen's  precious  ointment,  and  might  bo 
still  more  strongly  made  against  the  divine  Archi- 
tect's plan,  of  which  David  was  but  the  undertaker, 
and  Solomon  the  builder. 

Within  the  mission,  within  the  breast  of  the  be- 
liever, the  new  life  of  civilization  began  ;  but  there 
it  did  not  end.  Every  wigwam  chapel  gathered  its 
colony  ;  the  Catholic  principle  was  fatal  to  the  no- 
madic looseness  of  life  ;  the  mission  always  matured 
into  a  village.  The  progress  indeed  was  slow  at 
first,  as  must  be  every  progress  from  barbarism  up- 
wards ;  as  was  Roman,  Gothic,  Celtic,  and  Norman 
progress.  But  we  have  every  right  to  assume,  from 
what  progress  was  made  while  the  Catholic  mission 
flourished,  that  both  the  individual  and  the  family 
would  have  been  reclaimed,  and  the  new  Indian 
society  gradually  developed,  had  time  enough  been 
granted.  One  of  our  statesmen,  speaking  of  the  re- 
mains of  those  missions,  is  induced  to  say  that  much 
was  due  to  French  courtesy  and  sobriety, "  and  much 
more,  perhaps,  to  the  influence  of  a  religion  which, 


^i 


BLUitaMi-uaaE 


66 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OP  AMERICA. 


thougli  often  calumniated,  exercises  a  dominion  over 
the  minds  of  untutored  savages  far  more  powerful 
and  far  more  salutary  than  has  hitherto  resulted 
from  the  influence  of  any  other."  * 

Every  Catholic  missionary  set  out  with  the  reso- 
lution to  learn  the  native  language.  At  Quebec 
and  at  New  Orleans  there  were  schools  where  In- 
dian languages  were  taught  to  Europeans.  Father 
Chamnount  wrote  a  Huron,  Father  Bruyas  an  Iro- 
quois, dictionary  ;  Father  Gravier  did  likewise  for 
the  Illinois,  Father  White  for  the  Susquehannas, 
and  Father  Rasles  for  the  Abnakis.  These  and 
other  fathers  translated  into  the  several  lan- 
guages of  the  nations  among  which  they  resided 
various  catechisms,  portions  of  Scripture,  lives  of 
Christ,  and  other  elementary  treatises.  They  were 
thus  laying  the  broad  foundations  of  a  living  Indian 
literature,  which  must  in  time  have  become  a  valu- 
able element  in  the  work  of  aboriginal  training. 
Except  symbolic  signs,  these  people  had  no  charac- 
ter ;  the  missionaries  alone  labored  to  supply  this 
void,  in  the  manner  most  natural  and  most  agreea- 
ble to  men  jealous  of  their  race.  While  translating 
Catholic  literature  into  Indian  languages,  they  at 
the  same  time  collected  not  only  the  grammar  of 
Indian  tongues,  but  innumerable  native  traditions  ; 
which  collections,  at  this  day,  are  the  most  valuable 
part  of  all  we  possess  concerning  the  red  race  of 
America.    Had  the  Indian  civilization  gone  on, 


*  Hon.  J.  K.  Paulding,  Atlantic  Souvenir  for  1831. 


THE  ABORIGINES  AND   MISSIONARIES. 


57 


mi 


m 


liow  mucli  more  valuable  w^ould  it  be  to  tlicni  to 
have  the  traditions  of  their  fathers  in  the  lauguag-e 
of  their  fathers,  than  to  be  obliged  wholly  to  trans- 
late their  ideas  into  a  foreign  tongue  I 

As  travellers  and  experimentalists,  the  services 
of  our  missionaries  to  Indian  civilization  are  re- 
spectable. They  were  the  first  explorers  of  the 
northe/  It.  and  rivers,  and  '^  ^  first  to  descend 
the  Mississippi,  und  to  ascend  the  Missouri.  I  can 
but  indicate  to  you  their  labors  in  that  region. 

Undeterred  by  the  fate  of  Broebeuf  and  Lalle- 
mand,  other  missionaries  made  their  way  to  Lake 
Huron  ;  and  in  1665  one  of  them,  Father  Allouez,  ex- 
plored Lake  Superior  in  a  canoe,  and  founded  a  mis- 
sion on  its  banks  called  St.  Esprit.  A  mission  also 
grew  up  at  the  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  from  which  voyages 
and  journeys  of  discovery  were  made  in  every  di- 
rection. In  1673  Fathers  Marquette  and  Dablon, 
of  the  Lake  Superior  mission,  hearing  of  a  groat 
river  to  the  west,  made  their  way  to  Green  Bay,  as- 
cended the  Fox  River,  travelled  by  land  to  the  Wis- 
consin, and,  following  its  course,  on  the  17th  of 
Juno  discovered  the  Upper  Mississippi,  as  De  Soto 
one  hundred  and  thirty  years  before  had  discovered 
the  Lower  Mississippi.  The  Missouri,  the  Ohio,  the 
Arkansas,  and  the  Illinois  Rivers  were  also  explored 
by  Father  Marquette,  who  has  been  called,  and  well 
deserves  to  be  called,  "  the  father  of  the  west." 
The  last  hour  of  this  good  man's  life  was  in  keeping 
with  all  the  rest.  Feeling  that  his  hour  was  come, 
he  built  an  altar  of  turf  on  the  shores  of  Lake 


M- 


58 


CATHOLIC  HISTORY  OP  AMERICA. 


Michigan  ;  and  after  offering  the  holy  sacrifice  of 
the  mass,  he  said  to  his  Indian  congregation,  "  Leave 
me  alone  for  half  an  hour."  They  withdrew  like 
obedient  children,  and,  after  the  half  hour  elapsed, 
returned  and  found  him  dead  before  the  altar,  a 
holy  joy  upon  his  face,  his  arms  crossed  upon  his 
breast.  Thus  Father  Marquette  departed  to  God 
from  the  depths  of  that  wilderness  which  for  the 
glory  and  increase  of  Christianity  he  was  the  first 
to  traverse  and  describe.  *'  The  west,"  says  Ban- 
croft, "  will  build  his  monument."  It  is  to  be  hoped 
so,  for  the  west's  own  honor. 

Every  such  exploration  as  Marquette's  (and  there 
were  others  of  almost  equal  importance)  was  fol- 
lowed by  a  map  and  a  memoir,  describing  the  phys- 
ical geography  of  the  country.  Being,  besides,  men 
of  some  science,  and  quick  observers,  the  missiona- 
ries made  several  useful  discoveries,  and  introduced 
many  improvements.  They  first  made  wine  from 
the  native  grape,  wax  (for  candles)  from  the  wild 
laurel,  and  incense  from  the  gum  tree.*  They  drew 
attention  to  the  cotton  plant  and  the  mulberry  tree 
of  the  Mississippi  valley ;  they  introduced  the 
sugar  cane  from  their  gardens  in  New  Orleans  ;  they 
first  planted  the  peach  in  Illinois  ;  and  were  the  first 
to  introduce  wheat  and  the  plough  into  the  prairies. 
The  aborigines  had  habitually  planted  their  maize 
in  holes  made  with  a  dibble  ;  but  the  Jesuits  taught 
them  better.    If,  as  has  been  said, "  a  plough  proper 


*  Kip's  Jesuits  in  America. 


THE  ABORIGINES  AND  MISSIONARIES. 

in  a  field  arable  "  be  the  noblest  escutcheon,  then  is 
it  theirs ;  if 

•'  111  ancient  days  the  sacred  plouph  employed 
The  kings  and  awful  fathers  of  mankind," 


a  share  of  the  same  awe  and  honor  belongs  to  the 
early  Catholic  missionaries.  They  pointed  out  the 
locality  of  many  minerals  ;  they  were  the  first  to 
work  the  copper  mines  of  Lake  Superior  for  orna- 
ments for  the  altars  at  the  Sault ;  and  the  first  to  ac- 
quaint New  York  of  the  existence  of  her  own  salt 
springs.* 

About  this  latter  discovery  there  is  an  anecdote 
worth  repeating.  When  Father  Simon  la  Moyne 
communicated  the  fact  to  his  Dutch  correspondent, 
Dominie  Megapolcnsis,  the  cautious  dominie,  in  lay- 
ing it  before  "  the  classis  of  New  Amsterdam,"  ex- 
presses himself  in  great  doubt  "  whether  this  infor- 
mation be  true,  or  whether  it  be  a  Jesuit  lie.'^  It 
turned  out  to  be  quite  true,  as  the  annual  revenuea 
of  New  York  State  can  testify.  Of  many  another 
Jesuit  discovery  we  may  say  with  confidence  that 
it  was  just  as  true  as  that  there  is  salt  at  Syra- 
cuse. 

Dr.  Kip,  in  his  publication  of  Jesuit  letters,  seems 
to  think  the  good  immediate  eff'ects  of  their  missions 
(which  he  admits)  were  not  very  lasting.  They 
were  not,  indeed,  where  the  English  had  the  power 
to  counteract ;  as  when  in  this  state,  a  little  over  a 

•  Shea's  Discovery  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  p.  227. 


l-§ 


CO 


CATHOLIC  HISTORY  OP  AMERICA. 


century  ago,  they  executed  Father  John  Ury  on  a 
trumped-up  charge  of  plotting  with  the  negroes. 
But  where  that  power  was  not  absolute,  as  in  Low- 
er Canada  by  treaty,  or  in  the  west  from  its  dis- 
tance, the  missions  never  wholly  decayed.  Accord- 
ing to  a  parliamentary  paper  of  the  session  of  1834, 
there  were  ten  thousand  Christian  Indians  in  Lower 
Canada  ;  in  the  upper  province  there  may  be  half 
as  many  ;  on  the  Kennebec  and  in  the  lower  British 
provinces,  say  five  thousand  Christian  Indians  ;  on 
Lake  Superior  Bishop  Barraga  counts  five  thousand  ; 
in  California,  in  1833,  Bacholot  found  twenty  thou- 
sand under  the  Franciscan  fathers  ;  Father  de  Smet 
and  his  coadjutors  count  in  the  far  west  several 
thousands  ;  in  Mexico  there  are  four  millions  of 
pure  Indians  and  two  millions  of  mixed  race ;  in 
all,  north  of  the  isthmus,  there  may  be  seven  mil- 
lions of  the  pure  or  mixed  descendants  of  the  abo- 
rigines who  are  Catholic  Christians  and  have  learned 
from  Catholicity  the  first  lessons  of  civilization.  It 
is  to  be  regretted  there  are  not  many  millions  more  ; 
but,  all  things  considered,  it  is  well  there  are  so 
many.* 

I  turn  now  to  the  Protestant  attempts  ;  and  these 
are  so  few  and  simple  that  they  will  be  easily  told. 
The  most  respectable  was  the  attempt  made  by  "  the 
apostle  Eliot,"  as  he  is  called,  among  the  Massachu- 


*  •'  Within  the  territory  of  the  United  States,  in  1853,  there  were  but 
one  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  east  of  the  Mississippi,  and  two   , 
hundred  and  twenty  thousand  west  of  it."  —  Report  of  Secretary  of  the 
Interior  for  1853. 


THE  ABOHIGINES   AND   MISSIONARIES. 


01 


setts  Indians  about  the  year  1040,  and  from  that 
time  till  his  death.  I  have  no  desire  to  deny  his 
zeal,  his  learning,  or  his  sincerity.  All  that  is  ne- 
cessary is  to  state  the  fact  mentioned  by  his  early  bi- 
ographer, who  tells  us  he  extended  his  labors  from 
Boston  "  even  to  Cape  Cod."  He  gathered  several 
neophytes  at  Natick,  and  translated  the  Bible  into 
the  Narragansett  tongue  ;  but  by  the  time  he  had 
done,  there  were  no  Narragansetts  to  read  it.  The 
success  of  Brainerd  at  Stockbridgc  was  not  so  short- 
lived ;  but  it  also  has  passed  away.  When  Father 
Rasles  was  on  the  Kennebec,  the  Rev.  Richard  Bax- 
ter settled  in  his  neighborhood  and  opened  an  Indi- 
an free  school  there.  On  being  invited  to  a  discus- 
sion of  doctrines  he  left,  and  did  not  again  return 
to  his  "  mission."  His  discomfiture  is  told  with 
natural  complacency  by  the  veteran  Jesuit,  who 
spent  thirty-seven  years  of  his  life  in  the  wilderness, 
and  laid  down  his  mission  only  with  his  life.  When, 
in  1703,  Governor  Dudley,  of  Boston,  offered  to  re- 
build the  church  of  the  Abnakis  burned  by  the  Pu- 
ritans, on  condition  he  was  to  send  them  a  minister, 
the  Indian  deputy  replied  by  a  parallel,  in  which  ho 
said,  "  When  you  first  came  hither  you  saw  me  a 
long  time  before  the  French  governors  ;  but  neither 
those  who  preceded  you  nor  your  ministers  have 
spoken  to  me  of  prayer  or  the  Great  Spirit.  You 
have  seen  my  furs,  my  skins  of  the  beaver  and  the  elk, 
and  it  is  about  these  only  you  have  thought ;  "  and 
much  more  to  the  same  effect.  On  the  contrary,  he 
added,  the  French  black  robe  "  hardly  deigned  to 

6 


62 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OP  AMERICA. 


look  at  his  furs,"  but  spoko  to  him  at  once  "  of 
tho  Great  Spirit,  of  paradise,  of  hell,  and  of  the 
prayer."  Equally  acute  was  the  answer  of  Red 
Jacket  to  tho  missionary  who  told  the  Senecas  all 
his  religion  was  in  the  Bible  :  "  Brother,"  said  ho, 
"  you  say  all  good  is  in  the  book  ;  it  is  well.  Go 
back  to  your  own  people  at  Buffalo  Creek  ;  they 
have  tlie  good  book ;  when  they  become  all  good 
you  can  return  to  us,  and  wo  will  hear  you  talk  more 
of  the  Bible."  Except  their  partial  success  among 
the  remaiuB  of  the  Oneidas,  I  know  no  Methodist 
mission  in  the  older  states  which  can  now  show  any 
considerable  congregation. 

In  the  year  of  our  Lord  1725,  the  celebrated 
Berkeley,  Dean  of  Derry,  pleaded  tlie  cause  of  the 
Indian  race  so  forcibly,  that,  at  the  table  of  Pope 
the  poet,  Swift  and  others  started  up,  exclaiming, 
"  Let  us  go  I  let  us  go  !  "  They  did  not  go,  how- 
ever ;  but  Berkeley  did.  He  sailed  to  the  colonies 
in  1729,  on  the  faith  of  a  grant  of  twenty  thousand 
pounds,  with  which  he  was  to  found  an  Indian  col- 
lege in  Bermuda.  But  the  money  was  never  paid 
over,  the  college  never  founded  ;  and  Dr.  Berkeley, 
after  three  years  spent  at  Newport,  returned  to  hia 
learned  friends  and  an  Irish  mitre,  leaving  the  red 
race  to  Providence.  This  was,  we  believe,  the  only 
project  ever  submitted  to  the  British  government 
for  aid  to  convert  our  Indians.  Their  treatment 
of  Dean  Berkeley,  compared  to  the  Spanish  govern- 
ment's uniform  attention  to  Las  Casas,  or  the  French 
government's  aid  to  the  Canadian  misssionaries, 


THE   ABORIGINES   AND   MISSIONARIES. 


63 


docs  deep  nislionor  to  Eiiglaiul.     A  day  will  come 
when  liistory  will  muki;  iier  feel  it. 

In  eomparativcly  recent  times,  especially  by  the 
Methodist  sect,  missionaries  have  gone  among  tlio 
Indians  with  occasional  success  ;  but  no  results  lilco 
Caugawauga,  St.  Regis,  the  Sault,  or  the  Oregon 
missions  have  at  any  time  been  attained  by  any 
of  the  sects.  Few  or  none  —  I  do  not  know  one  — 
of  the  sectarian  missionaries  died  in  the  American 
forest.  In  this  there  is  a  marked  ditl'erence  between 
them  and  the  Catholics,  who  al;  lost  always  died  iu 
harness.  It  is  quite  common  to  meet  obituaries  of 
Jesuits  who  had  spent  from  thirty  to  fifty  years  in 
the  wilderness,  and  died  at  patriarchal  ages,  ii.  tho 
midst  of  their  neophytes.  Father  Chamnomr.,  al- 
ready mentioned,  lived  over  fifty  years  among  the 
Hurons  ;  Bishop  Las  Casas,  over  sixl)  among  the 
various  tribes  of  Central  America  and  New  Spain  ; 
Williamson,  in  his  History  of  Maine,  speaks  of  "  Mr. 
Manach,  a  French  priest,  who  had  lived  among  the 
Micmacs  forty  years  or  more  prior  to  1763  ;  "  Fa- 
ther Rasles  had  spent  some  thirty-five  years  with  his 
beloved  Abnakis.*  Sometimes  members  of  the  same 
family  have  lived  for  years  without  once  meeting,  as 


♦  It  is  to  be  wished  that  the  intere^>t;i<-,  aissions  in  Maine,  both  by 
the  fathers  last  mentioned  and  by  P.  P.  Vincent,  and  Jaquos  Bigot  and 
M.  Thury,  were  made  the  subject  of  detailed  inquiry.  In  no  part  of 
the  new  world  do  the  Jesuits  appo-  ;•  to  more  advantage, 

[After  the  above  note  was  wri'ten,  we  learned  with  sincere  pleasure 
that  Mr.  John  Gilmary  Shea  had  a  work  in  the  press,  in  which  the 
American  missions  —  including,  of  course,  those  of  Maine  —  will  be 
treated  of  very  fully.] 


64 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OP  AMERICA. 


'  f 


the  three  Lallemands,  the  two  Mambres,  the  two  Bi- 
gots, and  the  two  Le  Moynes.  Many  a  noble  house  in 
Europe  might  almost  have  forgotten  that  it  had 
such  sons,  when  some  of  those  "  edifying  letters," 
now  so  precious  to  our  history,  would  find  their  way 
to  the  parental  roof.  The  very  names  of  the  wri- 
ters would  then  sound  strangely  in  the  homes  of 
their  fathers,  and  a  new  generation  would  ask,  in 
wonder,  the  date  of  their  departure  from  France  or 
Spain. 

Let  me  not  be  thought  to  overstate  the  results  of 
the  Catholic  missions  among  the  red  men.  I  argue 
only  that  systematic  attempts  were  made.  I  full 
well  know  that  barbarian  life  will  not  yield  up  its 
habits  in  one,  nor  two,  nor  three  generations.  I 
know,  also,  there  were  many  special  impediments  in 
the  way  of  the  first*  apostles  to  the  Americans. 
France  and  Spain  were  unfortunately  at  war  the 
greater  part  of  the  period  I  have  been  describing. 
They  were  not  only  at  war  with  each  other,  but  at 
feud  with  Rome.  During  the  entire  reign  of  Louis 
XIV.  no  French  bishop  visited  the  chair  of  Peter. 
Under  the  attractive  or  repulsive  action  of  Protes- 
tantism, Catholic  states  were  becoming  less  Catho- 
lic up  to  the  hour  of  the  French  revolution.  More- 
over, on  this  continent,  the  captains  of  those  powers 
and  of  England  did  not  hesitate  to  employ  the  In- 
dian in  war  on  his  own  conditions.  The  expulsion 
of  the  French  from  Canada  in  1760,  the  suppression 
of  the  JesuUs  in  France  in  1763,  and  their  Roman 
suppression  ten  years  later,  were  so  many  obstacles 


^'■1 


THE  ABORIGINES   AND  MISSIONARIES. 


65 


to  a  systematic  and  cstablit^hecl  success  at  tlio 
north.*  But  a  great  and  generous  beginning  had 
been  made  from  Canada  to  Mexico.  A  Protestant 
tourist  in  Canada,  speaking  of  the  Jesuits  before 
the  suppression,  says,  "  Tliey  do  not  care  to  become 
preachers  to  a  coni; rogation  in  the  town  or  country, 
but  leave  those  places,  together  witli  the  emoluments 
arising  from  them,  to  the  (secular)  priests.  All 
their  business  here  is  to  convert  the  heathen  :  and 
with  that  view  their  missionaries  are  scattered  over 
every  part  of  tlie  country.  Near  every  town  and 
village  peopled  by  converted  Indians  are  one  or  two 
Jesuits,  wiio  take  great  care  that  they  may  not  re- 
turn to  paganism,  but  live  as  Christians  ought  to 
do."  t  "  Simply  to  call  these  people  religious," 
says  Mr.  Irving  of  certain  Rocky  Mountain  Indi- 
ans, "  would  convey  but  a  faint  idea  of  the  deep 
hue  of  piety  and  devotion  which  pervades  the  whole 
of  their  conduct.  They  are  more  like  a  nation  of 
saints  than  a  horde  of  savages."  I  Speaking  of 
those  of  New  Spain,  Baron  Von  Humboldt  says, 
"  The  Indians  of  the  missions  have  the  manners  of 
our  peasants."  §  Even  -when  the  missions  were  no 
longer  supplied  with  priests,  the  relics  and  tradi- 


*  The  Bishop  of  Quebec  employed  Priests  of  the  Mission  to  supply 
the  place  of  the  Jesuits,  by  whom  the  good  light  was  still  kept  burn- 
ing at  Tadousac,  Lorette,  Bccaucourt,  St.  Francois,  Sault  St.  Louis, 
&c.  The  return  of  the  black  robes  was,  however,  a  godsend  to  the 
poor  natives,  who  have  ever  since  been  chiefly  attended  by  them. 

f  See  Appendix  No.  V.  for  other  testimony  to  the  same  effect. 

X  Irving's  Adventures  of  Bonneville. 

§  Humboldt's  Personal  Narrative,  vol.  iii.  p.  235. 

G  * 


w 


66 


CATHOLIC  HISTORY  OP  AMERICA. 


\l 


tions  of  Christianity  were  fondly  cherished.  John 
Wesley  found  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  of  the 
Godhead  among  the  Chicasaws  ;  and  three  several 
times  tribes  from  Oregon  despatched  messengers  to 
St.  Louis,  to  ask  their  American  father  to  provide 
them  with  "black  robes."  In  some  tribes  this 
spirit  seems  to  have  been  imperishable  ;  others, 
when  the  clergy  were  no  longer  with  thera,  returned 
to  their  idols  —  a  thing  hardly  to  be  wondered  at. 
I  have  thus  maintained  my  second  proposition. 
I  have  shown  you  that  the  greatest  names  of  mod- 
ern Catholicity  are  bound  up  in  the  story  of  the  In- 
dian race.  I  have  mentioned  the  missions  of  the 
Jesuits,  Dominicans,  Carthusians,  Franciscans,  Rec- 
ollets,  and  Vincentians.  I  might  almost  assert  that 
every  Catholic  order  is  represented  in  the  history 
of  this  continent.  "Why  be  at  war  with  history? 
The  Jesuits  are  there,  in  the  outer  gate  of  all  our 
chronicles.  Speak  them  civilly  as  you  pass  on. 
For  us,  cold  compliments  are  not  enough.  Our 
blood  warms  at  witnessing  their  heroic  virtue,  and 
we  are  compelled  to  raise  our  voices  in  evidence  of 
our  homage.  They  were  the  first  to  put  the  forest 
brambles  by  ;  they  were  the  first  to  cross  the  thresh- 
olds of  the  wigwams  of  every  native  tribe ;  they 
first  planted  the  cross  in  the  wilderness,  and  shed 
their  blood  cheerfully  at  its  base.  Shall  we  not 
study  their  lives  nd  recall  their  words  ?  Shall  we 
not  figure  them  on  canvas  and  carve  them  in  mar- 
ble? Shall  we  not  sing  the  song  of  their  triumph, 
and  teach  it  to  our  children's  children,  until  the  re- 


Vi 


^f^jL^' 


vo 


^'».<v-  4    /-a4     'V'v*" 


7*  /v-w-t. ^-j.ti'w^'^oj 


THE  ABORIGINES  AND  MISSIONARIES. 


67 


niotest  generation  ?  We  have  never  had  cause  to 
be  ashamed  of  them  ;  and  God  grant  they  may  have 
none  to  be  ashamed  of  us.  I  ask  again  of  those 
not  with  us,  Why  be  at  war  with  history?  The 
Jesuit  is  in  the  gate,  and  you  can  no  more  enter  the 
first  chapter  of  your  own  chronicles  without  meeting 
him  there  than  you  can  enter  Quebec  in  time  of  war 
without  giving  the  sentry  the  countersign. 


11 


I  i 


IV.- THE  CATHOLICS  AND  THE  REVOLUTION. 

"VVe  are  now  to  speak  of  the  revolution  "whicli 
took  place  in  British  America,  and  of  how  far  Cath- 
olic blood,  talent,  and  treasure  contributed  to  the 
establishment  of  the  republic.  A  previous,  neces- 
sary question  is,  the  condition  of  the  colonies  out 
of  which  the  republic  was  erected. 

French  colonies  were  established  at  Quebec  in 
1608,  on  the  Penobscot  in  1631,  at  "  the  Sault "  and 
at  Kaskaekia  about  1670,  and  at  New  Orleans  so 
late  as  1717.  The  Spanish  settlement  of  St.  Augus- 
tine, in  Florida,  dates  from  1565,  and  makes  that 
town  the  oldest  in  our  republic.  In  the  year  1605, 
English  Episcopalians  settled  at  Jamestown  ;  in 
1620,  the  Puritans  landed  at  Plymouth  ;  in  1682, 
the  Quakers  founded  Philadelphia  ;  in  1661,  the 
Huguenots  were  settled  in  Carolina  ;  in  1729,  the 
Irish  Presbyterians  settled  on  the  Merrimac ;  and 
in  1732,  Oglethorpe  emigrated  to  Georgia.  The 
"  Dutch  Reformed  "  sect  had  settled  on  the  Hudson 
in  1610,  and  English  and  Irish  Catholics  on  the 
Chesapeake  in  1034. 

We  have  thus  side  by  side,  not  only  New  France 
and  New  England,  New  Amsterdam  and  New  Spain, 

(68) 


\''i 


THE   CATHOLICS  AND  THE  REVOLUTION. 


69 


but  the  Protestant  and  Catholic  religions,  repre- 
sented in  contemporaneous  colonics,  three  thousand 
miles  removed  from  the  first  sees  and  schools  of 
both  religions.  The  relative  power  of  these  col- 
onies, and  the  gradual  spread  of  British  sover- 
eignty over  all  the  territory  destined  to  form  the 
first  United  States,  raised  that  previous  question  of 
which  I  have  just  spoken. 

The  North  American  colonies  of  France  and 
Spain  were  not  at  any  time  largely  supplied  with 
emigrants  from  the  parent  countries.  At  the  first 
capitulation  of  Quebec,  a  century  after  its  settle- 
ment, "  two  ships "  were  considered  enough  to 
transport  its  inhabitants  out  of  Canada.  Till  this 
day  the  Americans  of  Spanish  origin,  north  of  the 
isthmus,  (including  Cuba,)  do  not  number  above 
four  millions.  In  Louisiana,  the  descendants  of  its 
founders  did  not  exceed  thirty  thousand  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  present  century.  The  colony  of 
Maryland  had  a  majority  of  Catholics  down  to  the 
English  revolution  of  1688  ;  but  as  the  total  did  not 
exceed  then  twenty-five  thousand,*  the  majority 
could  not  amount  to  a  very  large  number.  The 
Protestant  colonies  had  increased  in  numbers  more 
rapidly.  At  Cromwell's  death  the  New  England 
colonies  contained  fifty  thousand  inhabitants,  and 
Virginia  as  many  more.  How  shall  we  account  for 
this  difference  ?    Was  England,  in  the  seventeenth 


*  In  1671  the  population  was  sixteen  thousand.  Governor  Sharpe, 
in  a  letter,  ^vritten  in  1758,  to  the  then  Lord  Baltimore,  states  that  the 
Catholics  were  in  a  majority  down  to  the  year  1688, 


I  / 


70 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OP   AMERICA. 


century,  more  crowded  or  more  enterprising  than 
France  and  Spain  ?  Or  is  it  as  much  the  nature  of 
sects  to  feel  unsettled,  to  wander  away,  to  seek  new 
homes,  as  it  is  the  nature  of  the  church  to  satisfy 
the  soul,  to  check  worldly  ambition,  to  render  the 
poor  patient  in  the  endurance  of  their  lot  ?  Explain 
it  as  you  will,  the  fact  remains,  that  the  Catholics 
of  Europe  were  never  as  eager  to  emigrate  to  Amer- 
ica as  the  sectarians  were. 

Those  Catholics  who  settled  in  Maryland  were 
chiefly  of  the  better  classes  in  England  and  Ire- 
land ;  educated  young  men,  in  search  of  employ- 
ments ;  heads  of  families,  in  search  of  cheaper  sub- 
sistence ;  men,  proud  of  their  ancient  faith,  who 
preferred  an  altar  in  the  desert  to  a  coronet  at 
court ;  professional  or  trading  men,  bound  by  in- 
terest and  sympathy  to  these  better  classes.  They 
composed  a  wise  and  select  community  worthy  of 
their  rich  inheritance.  One  of  their  earliest  legis- 
lative acts  was  "  the  toleration  act  of  1649,"  the 
first  ordinance  of  its  kind  known  in  America, 
which  granted  freedom  of  worship  "  to  all  who  be- 
lieved in  Jesus  Christ."  They  waged  no  extermi- 
nating wars  with  the  Indians  ;  they  had  no  strong 
towns  ;  but,  scattered  along  the  coasts  and  river 
courses,  they  cultivated  their  farms,  shipped  their 
superfluities,  bought,  and  sold,  and  built,  until  in 
half  a  century  they  had  increased  their  numbers  a 
thousand  fold. 

There  was  another  class  of  Catholics  scattered 
through  the  colonies  from  the  first  —  the  Irish  polit- 


I  ; 


THE  CATHOLICS  AND  THE  REVOLUTION. 


71 


ical  offenders,  banished  after  the  unsuccessful  rising 
of  1C41  and  the  subsequent  Protestant  revolu- 
tion. The  statistics  of  this  class  it  is  hopeless  to 
seek.  From  tlic  state  papers  of  Cromwell's  time, 
there  is  reason  to  set  them  at  from  fifty  to  one  hun- 
dred thousand  souls  shipped  to  the  West  Indies  or 
the  continent.*  Barbadocs  and  Jamaica  had,  per- 
haps, the  larger  part.  Of  the  whole,  two  thirds  must 
ha\^e  been  women  and  boys,  the  men  capable  of 
bearing  arms,  having  been  pressed  into  the  Protect- 
or's fleet,  or  sent  to  recruit  the  ranks  of  Austria, 
or  picked  up  by  recruiting  agents  from  other  Eu- 
ropean states. 

In  estimating  exiles  of  this  class  as  an  element 
of  our  original  population,  we  must  allow  for  the 
extraordinary  mortality  which  inevitably  befell 
them.  In  1625  we  hear  that  of  eighteen  hundred 
convicts  shipped  to  Virginia  within  the  six  previous 
years,  at  a  cost  of  fifteen  thousand  pounds,  only  one 
half  remained  alive.f  In  Barbadoes  and  Jamaica 
the  exiled  Irish  wasted  away,  leaving  only  a  scanty 
posterity  in  either  of  those  islands.^     Of  the  un- 


*  "  The  republican  commissioners  "  having  recommended,  A.  D. 
1652,  "  that  Irishteomen  be  sold  to  merchants  and  transported  to  Vir- 
ginia, New  England,  Jamaica,  or  other  countries,"  immense  numbers 
were  so  sent.  Sir  William  Petty  mentions  six  thousand  wotnen  and 
boys  sent  to  the  West  Indian  islands  alone.  Henry  Cromwell's  Irish 
Correspondence  contains  many  details  of  this  undertaking ;  a  contempo- 
rary manuscript,  in  the  late  Dr.  Lingard's  possession,  gave  the  total  at 
sixty  thousand  souls  ;  Bruodin,  a  contemporary,  sets  it  at  one  hundred 
thousand. 

f  Stith's  History  of  Virginia,  p.  167. 

J  Among  the  gentlemen  who  formed  the  council  of  the  governor  of 


% 


72 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY   OP  AMERICA. 


happy  females  transported  to  New  England,  many- 
descendants  must  remain  ;  many,  perhaps,  who  hold 
their  heads  high,  and  do  not  know  that  their  moth- 
ers' milk  was  drawn  from  that  much-enduring  race 
of  Celtic  islanders. 

The  English  revolution  of  1688  was  a  disastrous 
event  for  the  Catholic  minority  in  British  America. 
Maryland  had  enjoyed  freedom  of  worship  for  half 
a  century  ;  New  York,  and  the  British  settlement 
in  Maine,  — "  the  ducal  province  of  Sagadahock," 
as  it  was  called,  —  had  recently  been  opened  to 
Catholics  by  the  wisdom  of  Governor  Dougan,  him- 
self a  Catholic.  William  Penn,  who  owed  so  much 
to  James  II.,  could  not  refuse  to  tolerate  his  pa- 
tron's creed  in  Pennsylvania.  But  this  fair  prospect 
was  suddenly  overclouded.  The  Prince  of  Orange 
landed  in  England,  seized  the  crown,  defeated  his 
father-in-law's  forces  in  Ireland,  and  carried  out 
what  is  commonly  called  "  the  glorious  revolution 
of  1688."  All  the  colonies  felt  the  reaction.  Leis- 
ler  seized  New  York  under  the  rallying  cry  of  "  No 
Popery  "  and  "  Down  with  the  Jesuits."  The  colo- 
nies, like  Massachusetts  and  Virginia,  which  had 
somewhat  relaxed  the  penal  code,  now  increased  Its 
penalties.  The  new  charters  of  William  and  Mary 
allowed  liberty  of  conscience  "to  all  Christians 
except  Papists;"*   and  how  savagely   these  laws 

Barbadoes,  in  1767,  I  find  the  names  of  Patrick  Lynch,  Benjamin 
Malony,  and  one  or  two  others  of  Irish  origin. 

*  Acadia,  the  French  Nova  Scotia,  had  been  peopled  for  nearly  a 
century  by  a  simple,  pious,  pastoral  race,  when,  in  1713,  Louis  XIV., 
by  the  treaty  of  Utrecht,  ceded  their  country  to  Queen  Anne. 


k 


1 


THE  CATHOLICS  AND  THE  REVOLUTION. 


73 


> 


could  bo  enforced  may  lio  seen  in  the  melancholy 
story  of  the  expulsion  of  the  Acadians. 

A  fate  hardly  less  cruel  befell  the  Catholics  of 
Maryland.  The  founder  of  that  colony,  in  whom 
its  proprietorship  had  been  vested  by  James  I., 
without  condition,  though  well  knowing  his  Catho- 
licity, had  voluntarily  thrown  it  open  "  to  all  who 
believed  in  Jesus  Christ."  He  had  even  drafted 
oaths,  binding  his  deputies  and  their  council  not  to 
interfere  with  any  man's  conscience.  The  Episco- 
palian, excluded  from  New  England,  had  a  home  in 
Maryland  and  a  seat  in  its  assembly  :  the  Puritan, 
driven  from  Virginia,  sat  at  the  same  council  board 
with  the  Episcopalian.*    This  constitution  worked 

*  *'  It  is  certainly  very  honorable  to  the  liberality  and  public  spirit 
of  THE  PROPRiETAUY  that  he  should  have  introduced  into  his  funda- 
mental policy  the  doctrine  of  general  toleration  and  equality  among 
Christian  sects,  (for  he  does  not  appear  to  have  gone  further,)  and 
have  thus  given  the  earliest  example  of  a  legislator  inviting  his  sub- 
jects to  the  free  indulgence  of  religious  opinion.  This  was  anterior 
to  the  settlement  of  Rhode  Island,  and  therefore  merits  the  enviable 
rank  of  being  the  first  recognition  among  the  colonists  of  the  glorious 
and  indefeasible  rights  of  conscience."  —  Story's  Com.  on  Constitutio7i, 
book  i.  ch.  be.  sec.  106. 

•*  Calvert  deserves  to  be  ranked  among  the  most  wise  and  benevo- 
lent lawgivers  of  all  ages.  He  was  the  first  in  the  history  of  the 
Christian  world  to  seek  for  religious  security  and  peace  by  the  practice 
of  justice,  and  not  by  the  exercise  of  power ;  to  plan  the  establish- 
ment of  popular  institutions  with  the  enjoyment  of  liberty  of  con- 
science ;  to  advance  the  career  of  civilization  by  recognizing  the  right- 
ful equality  of  all  Christian  sects.  The  asylum  of  Papists  was  the 
spot  where,  in  a  remote  corner  of  the  world,  on  the  banks  of  rivers 
which  as  yet  had  hardly  been  explored,  the  mild  forbearance  of  a  pro- 
prietary adopted  religious  freedom  as  the  basis  of  the  state."  —  Ban- 
croft, vol.  i.  p.  244.  For  some  account  of  the  rise  and  progress  of  re- 
ligious toleration  in  the  colonies  and  states,  see  Appendix  No.  Vlf 

7 


74 


CATHOLIC  HISTORY   OF   AMERICA. 


well  until  the  English  revolution  had  its  proscriptive 
parody  in  all  tiio  provincoa.  A  rising*  of  the  Protes- 
tant portion  of  the  colony  auticipatod  an  order  from 
Lord  l^altimorc  in  England  to  acknowledge  the 
new  sovereigns.  Those  who  originated  the  rising 
called  a  convention,  aftd  sent  an  address  to  King 
William,  full  of  accusations  of  Lord  iJaltiiaore,  and 
praying  him  to  send  them  a  royal  governor.  A  royal 
governor  was  sent ;  and,  in  1G92,  an  assembly  con- 
vened by  this  governor  established  the  church  of 
England  as  the  legal  religion  of  the  province,  as- 
sessed the  counties  for  church  rates  and  ministers' 
money,  and  declared  Catholics  incapable  of  hold- 
ing office.  In  this  and  the  next  reign  severer  penal- 
ties were  inflicted ;  and,  that  they  miglit  not  increase 
from  without,  laws  forbidding  Catholics  to  emigrato 
to  the  colony  were  periodically  reunacted.*  In  no 
part  of  British  America,  while  it  remained  British, 

*  In  1704  an  act  entitled  "  An  Act  to  prevent  the  Growth  of  Popery 
■within  this  Province  "  passed. 

In  1707  anortier  act  was  passed,  suspending  some  of  its  provisions 
until  her  majesty's  pleasure  was  signified  therein. 

And  in  1718  the  act  of  the  Parliament  of  Great  Britain,  passed  in 
the  cl"venth  and  twelfth  years  of  "William  III.,  entitled  "  An  Act  for 
the  further  preventing  the  Growth  of  Popery,"  was  declared  by  act 
of  general  at  nbly  of  the  province  to  be  in  force  in  all  its  provisions 
in  the  province. 

Sec.  1  provides  a  reward  of  one  liundrcd  poimds  to  any  one  who 
shall  "apprehend  mid  take"  a  Popish  bishop,  priest,  or  Jesuit,  !ind 
prosecute  him  "  until  convicted  of  saying  mass,  or  of  exercising  any 
other  piirt  of  the  office  or  function  of  a  Popish  bishop  or  priest." 

Sec.  Z  ix\^icis  perpetual  imjirisonment  on  any  Popish  bishop,  priest, 
or  Jesuit  that  shall  say  mass  or  exercise  any  function  proper  to  such 
bishop,  priest,  or  Jesuit ;  or  on  any  person  professing  the  Catholic 
religion  who  shall  keep  school,  or  educate,  or  govern,  or  board  any 
youth. 


n 


THE  CATHOLICS  AND  THE  REVOLUTIOX. 


75 


f  4 


tiocd  wo  expect  to  iii,.l  any  better  troatnioiit  for 
Catliolics.  Neither  can  we  suppose  those  who  did 
remain  were  of  any  neeount  in  tlic  great  mass  of 
France  and  England,  of  which  this  continent  was 
])artly  the  Fpoil,  and  often  the  theatre,  from  tho 
rci<j^n  of  William  JII.  to  that  of  Gcorr^'c  III.  Dur- 
ing the  greater  part  of  that  interval  tho  two  pow- 
ers were  at  war  by  sea  and  land  ;  and  tho  names 
of  Louit^burg,  Quebec,  Ticonder  ra,  Fort  William 
Henry,  and  Fort  du  Quesnc  arc  the  popular  remem- 
brancers in  Atncica  of  their  famous  struggle  for 
supremacy.  When,  at  tho  peace  of  Paris,  (17G3,) 
tho  French  gave  up  Canada  to  England,  it  might 
reasonal)ly  enough  have  been  inferred  that  tho 
hopes  of  Catholicity  in  North  Araerica  wore  ex- 
tinguished. Tho  old  colonies  had  continued  un- 
changeable  in  their  oxclusivoncss.  The  governor 
and  council  of  Pennsylvania  had  prohibited  Cath- 
olic worship  in  ITS'!  and  1736  ;  in  1740,  Georgia 
had  prohibited  Catholics  settling  within  her  bor- 
ders ;  in  1746,  Father  John  Ury  was  executed  in 
New  York  for  the  protended  "  negro  plot"  to  burn 
tho  city,  tho  more  telling  charge  being  mixed  up 
with  it,  that  he  was  a  Catholic  priest.     Under  such 


Sec.  i.  That  if  any  Papist  youth  shall  rot,  within  six  months  after 
he  attains  his  niajurity,  take  certain  oaths  prescribed,  (oaths  incon- 
sistent with  the  faith  of  Romanists,)  he  shall  be  iacapable  of  taking 
lands  by  descent,  and  his  next  of  kin  being  a  Protestant,  shall  suc- 
ceed to  them  ;  that  any  pcr.son  professing  tho  Roman  Catholic  faith 
shall  bo  incompetent  to  purchase  lands. 

Sec.  fi.  An^  person  sending  his  child  abroad  to  be  educated  in  tho 
Romish  faith  should  forfeit  one  hundred  pounds. 


76 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OF   AMEHICA. 


I 


a  conjunction  of  disasters,  tlio  prospects  of  the 
American  cliurcli  sccnicil  utterly  hopeless  ;  yet,  at 
that  very  liour,  the  founder  and  sonic  of  the  mem- 
bers of  her  fu-vst  hierarchy  were  already  born.  Out 
of  such  profound  darkness  the  dawn  was  about  to 
break,  and  the  enemy  which  had  conspired  against 
God  and  his  Christ  to  be  scattered. 

Let  us  consider  a  moment,  before  opening  this 
brighter  prospect,  the  probable  result  of  the  long 
interval  of  persecution  we  have  described.  In  an 
old  Catholic  country  like  Ireland,  it  might  havo 
confirmed  rather  than  conquered  the  faithful ;  but 
here  all  was  new  and  untried.  The  colonies  were 
a  mere  vicariate  of  the  Vicar  apostolic  of  London, 
himself  an  untolerated  character.  Churches  there 
were  none  ;  missionaries  next  to  none.  Little  won- 
der if,  even  in  Maryland,  the  Catholics  were  counted 
but  as  (me  thirteenth  of  the  whole  people  in  1758  ;  or 
if,  in  1785,  our  first  bishop  set  down  all  the  known 
Catholics  in  the  old  thirteen  states  at  only  thirty 
thousand.*  What  had  become  of  the  descendants 
of  the  old  Catholic  emigrants?  What  could  have 
become  of  whole  generations,  without  baptism, 
Avithout  the  catechism,  and  without  the  sacraments  ? 
When  we  meet  such  Protestant  names  as  0'J3rien3 
and  Sullivans  at  the  east ;  McKeans  and  McDon- 
oughs  on  the  Delaware ;  Lynches,  Rutledges,  and 
Moores  in  the  south,  —  it  needs  no  prophet  to  tell  us 
that  there  must  be  apostasy  somewhere  among  them. 


*  This  was  Bishop  Carroll's  calculation ;  but  we  have  always  thought 
fifty  thousand  would  be  nearer  the  mark. 


i 


TIIK   CATHOLICS   AND  THE   UEVOLUTION. 


77 


The  pop  !ar  (liscnssiona  propar.atory  to  the  revo- 
lution wero  indirectly  sorvicouhlo  to  the  Catholic 
cause.  !Men  began  to  bo  ashauied  of  bigotry  when 
George  HI.  personated  it.  As  the  project  of  re- 
sistance to  his  power  became  more  definite,  so  did 
this  other  sentiment  increase  and  grow  strong. 
There  wero  still  some  Catholics  of  mark  in  the  col- 
onies ;  it  was  desirable  that  Canada  sliould  bo 
brought  into  the  confederacy  ;  very  desirable  that 
a  French  alliance  could  be  brought  about.  In  in- 
dividual minds  nobler  sentiments  prevailed  ;  but 
with  the  mass  of  American  Protestants,  toleration 
was  the  child  of  state  policy.  In  1763  the  cross  of 
St.  Mary's  was  roised  in  Philadelphia,  and  in  1770 
St.  Peter's  Church  was  opened  in  Baltimore.  When 
the  Continental  Congress  met  in  1775,  it  pronounced 
for  the  broadest  toleration,  although  there  was  nol 
wanting  a  party  who  still  cherished  the  worst  spirit 
of  the  penal  times. 

The  Catholic  colonists  may  be  divided  at  this 
period  into  three  classes  —  the  landed  proprietors, 
like  the  Carroll  family  ;  the  merchants,  like  tho 
Moylans  and  Fitzsimonses  of  Philadelphia  ;  f  and 
"  the  redemptioners,"  or  poor    emigrants,  whoso 


cti 


*  In  1774,  at  the  diwii  of  the  revolution,  there  were  but  sixteen 
missionaries  in  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania  —  all  Jesuits.  The  '*  chap- 
els "  had  been  all  in  private  houses,  as  in  England,  until  the  public 
opening  of  the  churches  mentioned  in  the  text. 

+  In  the  famous  Philadelphia  contribution,  to  supply  the  camp  at 
Valley  Forge,  I  find  the  names  of  Dolany  and  Shea  for  one  thousani 
pounds  each,  John  Mease  for  four  thousand  pounds,  and  James  Mease 
for  five  thousand  pounds.    They  were  Catholic  merchants. 


78 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY   OF  AMERICA. 


w 


services  were  sold  for  a  term  of  j^ears,  to  jDay  for 
their  passage'out.      .      ..- 

If  we  are  to  judge  by  proper  names,  the  rank  and 
file  of  the  continental  army  was  largely  recruit'  ' 
from  the  redemptioners.*  As  so  many  of  th'  .u- 
habited  the  seaports,  the  navy  was  also  their  aebtor, 
the  more  so  that  some  of  the  first  commanders  were 
themselves  Irish  Catholics.  The  first  sea  fight  of 
the  war  (what  Mr.  Fennimore  Cooper  calls  "  the 
Lexington  of  the  seas  ")  was  fought  under  a  Catho- 
lic commander.  I  allude  to  the  affair  of  May  11, 
1775,  in  Machias  Bay,  where  Jeremiah  O'Brien  and 
his  brothers  captured  the  British  store  ships  Mar- 
garetta  and  Tapnaquish.  A  better  known  instance 
is  that  of  the  first  commodore  of  the  United  States, 
John  Barry,  '•  who  died  at  the  head  of  the  service  " 
in  1803.  He  was  born  on  the  sea  shore  of  Wexford 
county,  in  Ireland,  in  1745  ;  in  April,  1776,  he  was 
commissioned  by  Congress.  With  his  boats  in  the 
Delaware,  as  well  as  by  the  capture  of  the  Edward, 
the  Atalanta,  and  Trespassa  at  sea,  and  his  disci- 
plinary efforts,  he  won  the  proud  title  of  "  father 
of  t^he  American  navy."  With  him  Dale,  Decatur, 
Murray,  and  Stewart  served  their  apprenticeship  of 
glory.  Among  his  men,  tradition  counts  a  large 
number  who  were  natives  of  the  same  island  with 
their  commander. 

In  the  annals  of  war,  only  the  chiefs  can  be  dis- 
t 

*  Far  example,  in  the  list  of  the  Bedford  (N.  II.)  company  at  Bun- 
ker's Hill  wc  find  the  names  O'Neil,  OTling,  Murphy,  Moore,  Sulli- 
van, Calahan,  &c 


a 


^ 


THE  CATHOLICS  AND  THE  KEVOLUTION. 


79 


T 


d 


tingiiished.  Of  the  officers  of  the  army  let  mc  spe- 
cially mention  one  —  General  Stephen  Moylan,  of 
Pennsylvania.  Stephen  Moylan  was  a  native  of 
Cork,  and  brother  to  the  Eoman  Catholic  bishop  of 
that  diocese.  At  Cambridge  he  was  commissary 
general  and  aid-dc-camp  to  Washington  ;  afterwards 
he  was  transferred  to  command  the  dragoons,  in 
which  position  he  was  in  every  important  engage- 
ment during  the  war.  Wherever  you  find  Anthony 
Wayne,  you  find  Stephen  Moylan  —  at  Stony  Point, 
at  Bergen  Neck,  on  the  Delaware,  and  at  Savannah. 
After  the  surrender  of  Yorktown,  '*  the  remnant  of 
Moylan's  dragoons  "  returned  to  their  homes.  ^ 

Speaking  of  the  opposition  made  in  the  first  Con- 
gress to  the  claims  of  Catholics,  the  biographer  of 
General  Reed  remarks,  "  And  this  was  at  a  time 
when  Colonel  Moylan  and  others  of  the  most  meri- 
torious officers  of  the  army  were  Roman  Catholics  ; " 
at  a  time  also,  it  may  be  added,  when  the  largest 
proprietor  in  that  Congress,  Charles  Carroll,  of  . 
Carrollton,  had  pledged  to  the  declaration  of  inde-  ■ 
pendence  his  life   and  fortune,  and  when  his  col-, 
league,  William  Paca,  an  Italian  Catholic  by  de- 
scent, had  been  found  equally  zealous  in  the  common 
cause.    The  important  part  borne  by  the  Carroll 
family  in  the  revolution  was  not  confined  altogeth- 
er to  "  the  signer."     Daniel  Carroll,  his  cousin,  was 
one  of  the  most  strenuous  advocates  of  independence. 
His  name  stands  as  one  of  the  authors  of  the  federal 
constitution  :  on  what  was  once  his  farm,  by  the  Po- 
tomac, the  national  Capitol  now  stands.    The  broth- 


51 

il 


A% 


m 


i 


80 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OP  AMERICA. 


er  of  this  gentleman,  tlie  Rev.  John  Carroll,  of  the 
order  of  Jesuits,  afterwards  first  Bishop  of  Balti- 
more, was  employed  on  a  delicate  diplomatic  mission 
by  the  first  Congress.  In  the  winter  of  1775,  Wash- 
ington having  advised  an  invasion  of  Canada,  the 
army,  in  two  divisions,  marched  into  that  province, 
gained  some  successes,  were  repulsed  at  Quebec,  and 
wintered  at  Montreal.  The  following  spring  Con- 
gress resolved  on  sending  a  diplomatic  embassy  to 
the  Canadians,  composed  of  Dr.  Franklin,  Mr. 
Chase,  Charles  Carroll,  and  the  Rev.  John  Carroll. 
They  reached  Montreal  by  the  1st  of  May,  but  ef- 
fected little,  their  mission  being  mainly  defeated  by 
the  an ti- Catholic  conduct  of  certain  American  offi- 
cers and  the  party  in  Congress  already  alluded  to. 
In  his  instructions  to  Schuyler,  General  Washing- 
ton had  wisely  pointed  out  "  that  the  province  could 
only  be  secured  by  laying  hold  of  the  affections  of 
the  people  and  engaging  them  heartily  in  the  com- 
mon cause."  *  In  the  same  spirit,  Montgomery,  who 
replaced  Schuyler,  on  entering  Canada  in  November, 
1775,  obtained  peaceable  possession  of  Montreal 
"  after  engaging  to  allow  the  Canadians  their  own 
laws,  the  free  exercise  of  their  religion,  and  the  privi- 
lege of  governing  themselves."  After  Montgom- 
ery's death,  Chief  Justice  Marshall  observes  that 
"  the  priests  were  very  injudiciously  neglected," 
and  that  "even  General  Arnold  was  disposed  to 
think  himself  in  the  company  of  our  enemy."  f 


*  Mar8hair8  Life  of  Washington,  vol.  i.  p.  49. 
t  Ibid.,  p.  GO. 


THE   CATHOLICS   AND   THE   REVOLUTION. 


81 


Before  this  cliango,  the  same  autliority  adds  that 
the  Canadians  "  gave  essential  aid  to  the  Americans 
and  facilitated  their  march  through  that  province/'  * 
A  still  worse  blunder  was  committed  by  Congress 
in  its  "Address  to  the  People  of  Great  Britain," 
wherein  it  stigmatized  Lord  North  for  establishing 
in  Canada  "  a  religion  which  had  deluged  their  isl- 
and in  blood,  and  diffused  impiety,  bigotry,  perse- 
cution, murder,  and  rebellion  through  every  part  of 
the  world."  This  precious  piece  of  rhetoric  was 
speedily  translated  and  diffused  among  the  Canadi- 
ans by  British  agents,  and  not  less  than  the  untimely 
death  of  Montgomery  prevented  them  from  being 
drawn  into  the  general  confederacy  of  the  colonies. 
At  another  point  of  danger  the  friendly  influence 
of  Canadian  Catholics  was  hardly  less  desirable. 
In  following  the  warlike  movements  along  the  At- 
lantic coast,  the  eye  of  the  student  must  sometimes 
,  be  lifted  to  glance  westward  towards  the  line  of  the 
lakes  and  across  the  Indian  country  on  the  Wabash 
and  Mississippi.  It  will  be  arrested  for  a  moment 
at  the  old  Canadian  posts,  Vincennes  and  Kaskas- 
kia.  There  we  find  Fathe.-  '  -ibault,  vicar  general 
of  the  Bishop  of  Quebec,  blc  :--!ng  the  arms  of  French 
volunteers  in  the  American  cause,  administering  the 
oath  of  allegiance  to  thf^  Congress,  in  his  own  church, 
and  enlisting  the  Christian  Indians  upon  the  same 
side.  "  There  is  no  doubt,"  says  the  Bishop  of  Lou- 
isville, "  that  the  efforts  of  this  good  priest  saved 


Marshall's  Life  of  Washington,  vol.  i.  p.  50. 


82 


CATHOLIC  HISTORY  OP  AMERICA. 


the  effusion  of  mucli  blood,  and  facilitated  our  con- 
quests in  the  north-west."  *  The  invariable  friend- 
ship of  the  first  American  governors  of  that  region, 
from  George  Rogers  Clarke  to  Lewis  Cass,  for  our 
missionaries,  is  a  proof  that  their  public  services 
were  considered  deserving  of  courteous  acknowl- 
edgment—  the  only  recompense  they  ever  accepted. 
Yet  it  is  certain  that  in  the  first  years  of  the  con- 
test the  old  colonial  bigotry  prevailed  in  nearly  all 
its  force.  In  March,  1777,  when  the  colony  of  New 
York  met  in  convention  at  Kingston,  on  the  Hud- 
son, to  frame  a  new  constitution,  Mr.  John  Jay 
moved,  in  amendment  of  the  section  granting  "  free 
toleration  of  religious  profession  and  worship,"  to 
add,  "  except  to  the  professors  of  the  religion  of  the 
church  of  Rome,"  adding  the  usual  tirade  about 
"  the  dangerous  and  damnable  doctrines  "  of  absolu- 
tion from  sin  and  from  allegiance  to  the  state.  A 
long  debate  took  place  on  this  motion,  which  was 
finally  lost  by  nineteen  nays  to  eleven  yeas.  A  sub- 
stitute motion  of  Mr.  Morris  wap  carried  by  the 
same  numbers,  in  these  words  :  "Provided  that 
the  liberty  of  conscience  hereby  granted  shall  not 
be  so  construed  as  to  excuse  acts  of  licentiousness, 
or  justify  practices  inconsistent  with  the  peace  or 
safety  of  the  state."  f    But  a  previous  proviso,  re- 


♦  Dr.  Spalding's  Life  of  Bishop  Fluget,  p.  43,  where  Dillon's  History 
of  Indiana,  vol.  i.,  is  quoted  as  authority  for  the  patriotic  efforts  of 
Father  Gibault. 

t  Bishop  Bayley's  History  of  the  Churji  in  Nov:  York ;  Appendix 
No.  III. 


THE  CATHOLICS  AND  THE  REVOLUTION. 


83 


quiring  applicants  for  naturalization  "  to  abjure  and 
renounce  all  allegiance  and  subjection  to  all  and 
every  foreign  king,  priest,  potentate,  and  state,  in 
all  matters  ecclesiastical  and  civil,''  had  been  in- 
grafted in  the  state  constitution,  and  remained  part 
of  it  till  repealed  by  the  "  Act  concerning  Oaths," 
passed  in  1801.  The  first  important  advance  in 
toleration  was,  in  truth,  directly  consequent  on  the 
French  alliance  of  1778.  When  D'Estaing's  fleet  en- 
tered Newport  Harbor,  Rhode  Island  abolished  its 
penal  laws.  Every  French  ship  and  regiment  had 
its  chaplain,  and  in  many  states  they  were  the  first 
who  offered  the  holy  sacrifice  since  the  times  of  the 
Indian  missionaries.  In  New  York  the  Abbe  La 
Motte,  in  Newport  the  Abbe  Robin,  and  in  Boston 
the  Abbe  La  Poitre,  were  the  first  Catholic  priests 
the  revolutionary  generation  had  seen.  As  th(3 
good  understanding  between  the  two  countries  con- 
tinued, so  did  the  spirit  of  toleration  increase. 
During  the  last  years  of  the  war,  the  Catholics  of 
Boston  were  allowed  the  use  of  a  school  house  in 
School  Street,  while  those  of  New  York  assembled 
above  a  carpenter's  shop  in  Barclay  Street.  After 
the  war,  the  Rev.  Charles  Whelan,  an  Irish  Francis- 
can, previously  a  chaplain  in  the  French  fleet,  set- 
tled at  New  York,  and  was  the  first  who  gathered 
together  a  permanent  congregation  in  that  city. 

Having  mentioned  the  colonial  Catholics  who 
took  a  leading  part  in  the  revolution,  it  would  be 
unpardonable  to  overlook  their  foreign-born  co- 
religionists who  fought  ou  the  same  side.     Whatever 


^ 


*«', 


84 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY   OF  AMERICA. 


may  have  been  the  practice  of  tlio  Frenclimen  of 
that  age,  they  belonged  to  a  Catholic  nation,  and 
wore  the  uniform  of  a  prince  whose  pride  was  to 
be  called  "  the  eldest  son  of  the  clmrcli."  We  can- 
not forget  that  the  proud  names,  Do  ]\Iontmorenci, 
De  Lausun,  De  Chastellcaux,  I)e  Lafayette,  dignify 
not  only  the  muster  roll  of  the  revolution,  but  also 
the  registry  of  our  church  ;  neither  can  we  forget 
that  they  were  accompanied  in  arms  by  the  Counts 
Dillon,  McMahon,  and  Roche-Fermoy,  descendants 
of  Irish  Catholic  fugitives  for  conscience'  sake, 
long  settled  in  France  ;  *  nor  that  "'  the  orthodox 
kingdom  of  Poland  "  was  reprcsouted  here  by  her 
illustrious  soldier,  Thaddeus  Kosciusko.  On  the 
other  side,  what  do  we  see  ?  The  leading  Protes- 
tant power  of  the  world  sending  cut  army  after 
army  to  crush  your  rising  liberties.  This  a  Protes- 
tant revolution !  Truly  it  was,  just -so  far  as  Prot- 
estant oppression  and  Protestant  hostility  could 
give  it  that  character. 

Catholic  France  supplied  to  the  cause  of  the 
American  revolution  ten  thousand  men,  and  three 
hundred  millions  of  dollars.  All  the  military  op- 
erations of  the  last  three  years  of  the  war  depend- 
ed as  much  on  these  resources  as  on  the  continental 
army.  Their  burden  to  i  rcince  we  can  estimate ; 
their  valie  to  America  we  can  conjecture.  In  the 
operations  on  Tlho  lo  Island,  Long  Island,  and  the 


♦  '..  am  informed  ly  a  friend  learned  m  these  matters,  that  tlio  whole 
Irish  brigade  in  the  service  of  France  volunteered  for  the  American 
eervice,  but  were  not  sent^out,  wax  not  being  then  declared. 


'-•^, 


THE  CATHOLICS  AND  THE  REVOLUTION. 


85 


Delaware,  the  French  fleet  cooperated  witli  the 
American  army.  Cornwallis,  once  hemmed  in  be- 
tween the  two  forces,  was  compelled  to  capitulate. 
The  double  rank  of  oflicers,  one  French,  the  other 
American,  between  whom  he  marched  out  of  York- 
town,  is  a  true  representation  of  the  last  cam- 
paigns of  the  war.  A  most  important  arra  of 
the  service  was  particularly  indebted  to  the  French 
alliance ;  that  is,  the  engineers  and  artillery. 
Whoever  will  compare  the  Canada  campaign,  which 
"  failed  for  w*ant  of  engineers,"  to  the  Jersey  cam- 
paigns, "  in  which  the  French  officers  rendered  such 
service,"  will  see  the  value  of  this  accession.  To 
crown  all,  there  was  the  moral  influence  of  hav- 
ing a  first-rate  power  embarked  in  an  undecided 
cause,  of  having  a  European  sovereign  of  the  high- 
est rank  as  the  ally  of  obscure  colonies,  as  yet 
unknown,  even  by  name,  to  the  political  world. 
This  was  a  great  gain  ;  and  it  was  derived  from  a 
Catholic  quarter. 

Let  me  be  fairly  understood.  I  do  not  say  that 
Catholics,  native  or  foreign,  made  the  revolution. 
I  did  not  undertake  to  prove  that.  I  contend  only 
that  a  large  share  of  Catholic  blood,  talent,  and 
treasure  was  contributed  to  your  independence. 
This  has  been  proved,  and  more  than  this  ;  for  it  is 
clear  from  the  facts  cited  that  the  resident  Catholics 
owed  the  colonies  no  obligation  before  1775  ;  that, 
on  the  contrary,  the  sects  had  invariably  persecuted 
them  from  the  reign  of  \Yilliam  III.  to  the  reign 

8 


■:>*>. 


• '.  'V. 


II     I 


4 


ie 


\* 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OP  AMERICA. 


of  George  III. ;  that  finally  it  was  the  French  alli- 
ance, as  much  as  a  sense  of  justice  in  the  leading 
men,  which  at  length  insured  equal  rights  to  our 
predecessors.  These  being  the  circumstances,  how 
magnanimous  was  the  conduct  of  the  Catholic  col- 
onists 1  how  entirely  superior  to  all  selfishness  I 
They  took  thought  only  of  the  common  cause ; 
they  turned  their  eyes  away  from  their  own  wrongs, 
to  fix  and  fasten  them  on  the  wrongs  of  their 
country.  Such  patriotism  as  they  displayed,  if  not 
proportionate  in  amount  to  that  of  the  majority  of 
the  revolutionists,  was  at  least  equal  in  its  disinter- 
estedness to  either  Puritan  or  Virginian  heroism. 
May  I  add  the  testimony  of  the  highest  authority 
on  this  subject  ?  When  Washington  was  first  presi- 
dent, he  used  these  words  in  reply  to  the  "  Address 
of  the  Roman  Catholics  of  the  United  States  : "  "I 
presume  that  your  fellow-citizens  will  not  forget 
the  patriotic  part  which  you  took  in  the  accom- 
plishment of  their  revolution  and  the  establishment 
of  their  government,  or  the  important  assistance 
they  received  from  a  nation  in  which  the  Roman 
Catholic  faith  is  professed."* 

This  testimony  who  shall  gainsay  ?  These  are 
the  words  of  a  man  who  never  uttered  a  falsehood  ; 
of  a  patriot  the  most  jealous  of  making  distinctions 
between  citizens  ;  of  a  witness  who  had  the  best 
opportunity  of  judging,  and  who  possessed  the  best 

•  For  the  Address  and  Reply,  see  Appendix  No.  VI. 


1 


THE  CATHOLICS  AND  THE  REVOLUTION. 


87 


judgment.  I  could  call  other  witnesses  ;  but  Wash- 
ington's testimony  will  be  admitted  as  enough.  It 
can  stand  alone. 

I  have  already  shown,  on  the  authority  of  Chief 
Justice  Marshall,  that  it  is  probable  Canada  might 
have  been  one  of  the  original  states  of  the  Union  but 
for  the  impolicy  of  General  Arnold  and  the  bigotry 
of  a  portion  of  the  first  Congress.  How  much  we 
have  lost  or  gained  by  that  error  is  a  mere  matter 
of  speculation,  and  we  are  dealing  not  with  opin- 
ions, but  with  facts.  I  have  called  attention  to 
Marshall's  testimony,  showing  what  he  calls  "  the 
favorable  disposition  of  the  Canadians"  towards 
the  common  cause,  and  to  account  for  the  fact 
why  a  province  peculiarly  Catholic  was  not  brought 
into  the  confederacy.  The  truth  is,  the  "  old  thir- 
teen" were  not  very  anxious  to  have  her,  and 
the  Canadians  were  not  slow  in  discovering  their 
aversion. 

On  this  last  proposition  I  have  only  to  add,  that 
the  Catholic  colonists  were  no  less  zealous  for  the 
establishment  of  the  federal  constitution  than  they 
had  been  for  the  expulsion  of  the  English.  They 
desired  unity  not  less  than-  /iier^y  V  and  desiring  it 
ardently,  they  wrought  for  it  untiringly.  Among 
the  names  with  which  the  constitution  was  pro- 
mulgated, few  had  a  more  respectable  share  in  its 
preparation  than  Thomas  Fitzsimon,  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  Daniel  Carroll,  of  Maryland,  a  native 
and  a  naturalized  Catholic.    Mr.  Fitzsimon,  like 


88 


CATHOLIC   HISTOIIY   OF   AMEllICA. 


ili 


I 


mopt  men  of  his  religion  in  Washington's  time,  was 
a  federalist,  and  so  adverse  to  what  were  'ailed 
"French  principles"  that  he  refused  to  bo  made  ac- 
quaint 1  with  some  of  the  Irish  democots  who 
emigrated  to  this  country  after  1798.  lie  was  a 
merchant  of  Philadelphia,  a  skilful  financier,  and 
one  of  the  principal  authors  of  our  commercial 
legislation.  In  the  ii;  eful  nature^  of  his  public  ser- 
vices his  name  ranks  with  Robert  Morris  and 
Jonathan  Goodhue,  and  as  such  is  entitled  to  bo 
mentioned  with  respect  b^   our  own  generation. 

We  have  thus  far  borne  out  tlic  argument  from 
the  discovery  of  Columbus  to  the  presidency  of 
Washington.  Here  I  might  well  dismiss  the  sub- 
ject, having  proved  all  I  undertook  to  prove, 
namely  :  — 

First. — That  the  discovery  and  exploration  of 
America  were  Catholic  enterprises,  undertaken  by 
Catholics  with  Catholic  motives,  and  carried  out 
by  Catholic  cooperation. 

Seooxd.  —  That  the  only  systematic  attempts  to 
civilize  and  Christianize  the  aborigines  were  made 
by  Catholic  missionaries. 

Third.  —  That  the  independence  of  the  United 
States  wafi,  in  a  great  degree,  established  by  Catho- 
lic blood,  talent,  and  treasure.  .  _ 

But  it  is  necessary  for  the  completeness  of  the 
subject,  though  not  for  further  proof  of  these  prop- 
ositions, to  trace  the  growth  of  the  church  within 
the  republic.    The  history  of  seventy  years,  rapidly 


THE   CATHOLICS    AND  THE  REVOLUTION. 


89 


rehearsed,  will  give  us  ample  cause  for  encourage- 
ment ;  and  wlien  wu  compare  the  prospects  of  our 
faith  to-day  with  what  they  were  a  century  ago,  wo 
will,  I  think,  find  new  reasons  to  bo  thankful  for  tho 
impartial  guaranties  of  that  admirable  constitutiou 
under  which  it  is  our  hai)pincs3  to  live. 

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I 


As  one  returning  to  his  own  country  observes 
with  freedom  every  side  of  the  land,  until,  drawing 
near  his  birthplace,  he  becomes  suddenly  silent,  so 
might  we,  if  there  were  no  public  obligation  to  the 
contrary,  prefer  to  avoid  speaking  on  the  growth 
of  the  church  in  this  republic.  But  even  a  summa- 
ry like  the  present,  which  would  stop  at  the  era  of 
our  national  constitution,  must  leave  much  to  sur- 
mise, and  therefore  something  to  censure.  I  enter- 
tain, I  trust,  due  reverence  for  the  pious  dead, 
whether  departed  yesterday  or  a  thousand  years 
ago  —  a  sentiment  which  teaches  me  to  render  to 
their  virtues  even  more  honor  than  I  would  to  their 
persons  if  they  still  lived,  but  which  also  forbids  me 
to  offer  chance-plucked  poppies  of  panegyric  on 
their  graves. 

There  is  no  subject  on  which  Americans  generally 
are  apt  to  be  more  eloquent  than  the  growth  of 
their  country.  It  is,  indeed,  provocative  of  such 
outbursts.  The  amplifying  power  of  words  in  this 
case  falls  short  rather  than  exceeds.  "We  have  no 
terms  capable  of  expressing  how  much  material 
progress  has  been  made  in  less  than  a  century. 

(90) 


t4 


THE  CHURCH  IN  THE  REPUBLIC.  > 


91 


Thirteen  sovereign  states  converted  into  tliirty-two  ; 
France  and  Spain  removed  from  the  continent ;  Eng- 
land tolerated ;  savage  nations  exterminated  or 
transplanted  beyond  the  range  of  civilized  life  ;  a 
commerce  created,  which  contends  in  every  sea  for 
the  first  rank  ;  three  millions  become  four  and  twen- 
ty ;  long  iron  ways  laid  down  from  ocean  to  ocean  ; 
these  are  the  wonderful  material  conquests  of  this 
republic.  It  is  not  possible  to  exaggerate  their 
greatness,  except  by  attributing  to  them  moral 
causes  which  had  no  share  in  their  success. 

It  was  said  of  old,  empire  comes  from  the  North. 
On  this  continent  it  was  necessarily  so.  Just  as 
Europe  was  about  to  enter  on  the  great  wars  of  the 
French  revolution,  this  country  started  into  national 
life,  with  a  hardy,  intrepid,  and,  for  colonies,  a  com- 
pact population  of  three  million? ;  while  all  the 
other  white  inhabitants  north  of  the  isthmus  did  not 
count,  taken  together,  half  as  many.  With  double 
numbers,  with  the  impetus  of  revolutionary  success, 
with  native  institutions,  the  timely  growth  of  the 
soil  and  the  climate,  with  northern  necessities,  with 
"Washington  for  chief  magistrate,  the  United  States 
began  their  political  career.  It  is  none  of  my  pur- 
pose to  detail  the  story  of  national  conquest.  I 
point  to  the  lofty  ranges  of  events,  stretching  from 
east  to  west,  from  north  to  south,  and,  having  done 
so,  I  entreat  the  eye  to  descend  a  little,  and  to  mark 
along  the  habitable  line  of  the  mountains,  and  in 
the  deep  valleys  Opening  up  the  interior,  and  across 
the  plains  that  lie  between,  another  institution, 


tf" 


92 


CATH,OLIC  HISTORY  OP  AMERICA. 


' 


every  where  present,  and  every  where  victorious  ; 
I  mean  the  Catholic  church. 

This  institution,  like  the  principles  of  the  Amer- 
ican government,  preceded  by  centuries  the  independ- 
ence of  the  country.  It  however  developed  itself 
here  coordinately  with  the  republic,  and  its  growth 
was  proportionate  from  the  fiist  to  the  growth  of 
the  state.  The  only  parallel,  humanly  speaking,  to 
the  increase  of  the  American  state,  is  the  still  great- 
er increase  of  tlie  American  church.  And  if,  in 
studying  the  history  of  the  former,  we  are  surprised 
at  the  number  of  wise,  gifted,  and  famous  men, 
crowded  into  so  short  a  term  of  years,  in  the  histo- 
ry of  the  latter,  we  shall  find  no  scarcity  of  sancti- 
ty, nor  of  ability,  nor  of  names  "  not  born  to  die." 

In  the  character  of  the  first  archbishop  and  the 
first  president  we.  find  many  points  of  personal  re- 
semblance, which  we  cannot  think  either  trivial  or 
fanciful.  Born  about  the  same  period  in  adjoining 
states,  of  parents  who  ranked  among  the  aristocra- 
cy of  the  provinces,  each  endowed  with  decided 
talents  for  governing  himself  and  others,  both  were 
called  to  high  but  dissimilar  authority  at  the  first 
commencement  of  a  new  state  of  society.  In  the 
wise  forethought,  the  disin'.  :ed  demeanor,  the 
grave  courtesy,  and  the  ardea.  patriotism  of  Arch- 
bishop Carroll  and  General  Washington  there  is  a 
striking  similarity.  To  American  Catholics,  tho 
character  of  their  first  chief  pastor  can  never  be- 
come old,  nor  tiresome,  nor  unlovely,  any  more  thai> 
the  character  of  Washington  can  to  citizens  of  all 
denominations. 


!    • 


-^y 


THE  CHURCH  IN  THE  REPUBLTC. 


93 


John  Carroll,  third  son  of  Daniel  Carroll,  an 
Irish  emigrant,  was  born  at  Upper  Marlboro',  Mary- 
land, on  the  8th  of  January,  1735.  Sent  to  Europe 
to  be  educated,  he  studied  under  the  Jesuits  of  St. 
Omer's  and  Liege ;  was  ordained  in  1771 ;  was  a  pro- 
fessor at  Liege  when  his  order  was  suppressed  in 
France,  in  1773  ;  spent  two  years  in  England,  in  the 
family  of  the  disfranchised  Catholic  peers,  Lords 
Stourton  and  Arundel;  and  returned  to  Maryland  just 
as  the  revolutionary  war  broke  out.  He  was  then  in 
his  fortieth  year.  His  connection  with  the  first  Cath- 
olic families  of  Maryland  and  Virginia,  his  French 
urbanity  and  English  experience,  gave  him  a  social 
influence  which  no  previous  missionary  could  expect 
to  exercise.  From  the  first,  like  all  his  relatives, 
he  warmly  espoused  the  cause  of  the  colonies  against 
George  III.,  and  his  private  letters  to  his  English 
friends  are  often  occupied  with^a  zealous  but  amia- 
ble defence  of  the  side  he  had  chosen.*  His  agency 
in  the  Canada  mission  of  1776  I  have  treated  al- 
ready in  speaking  of  the  revolution,  and  it  is  un- 
necessary to  rehearse  it  here.f 

What  most  concerns  us  now,  is  the  action  taken 
by  the  Catholic  clergy  in  America  consequent  on 
the  revolution.  Hitherto  they  had  been  under  the 
control  of  "  the  vicar  apostolic  of  the  London  dis- 
trict," who  governed  them  through  his  vicars.  The 
revolution  had  hardly  closed  when,  in  1783,  they 


'■*■ 


*  Biographical  Sketch  of  Archbishop  Carroll,  by  John  Carroll  Brent, 
Esq.,  pp.  44-46. 
t  See  ante,  p.  80. 


94 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OP  AMERICA. 


applied  to  the  holy  see  to  give  them  a  new  superior, 
and  nominated  Dr.  Carroll  for  that  dignity.  In  the 
next  year  Pope  Pius  VI.  answered  their  unanimous 
application,  and  confirmed  their  choice.  From  1784: 
the  separate  organization  of  the  American  church 
may  be  dated,  as  that  of  the  country  may  be  dated 
from  1776.  From  1790,  when  Dr.  Carroll  was  or- 
dained its  first  bishop,  its  more  regular  government 
commenced,  as  that  of  the  country  did,  with  the 
adoption  of  the  federal  constitution,  in  1789.  Dr. 
Carroll  has  left  on  record,  among  a  list  of  reasons 
why  the  revolution  was  favorable  to  the  establish- 
ment of  religion,  the  four  following  ;  — 

"  I.  The  leading  characters  of  the  first  assembly, 
or  congress,  were,  through  principle,  opposed  to 
every  thing  like  vexation  on  the  score  of  religion  ; 
and  as  they  were  perfectly  acquainted  with  the  max- 
ims of  the  Catholics,  they  saw  the  injustice  of  per- 
secuting them  for  adhering  to  their  doctrines. 

"  II.  The  Catholics  evinced  a  desire,  not  less  ar- 
dent than  that  of  the  Protestants,  to  render  the 
provinces  independent  of  the  mother  country  ;  and 
it  was  manifest  that,  if  they  joined  the  common 
cause  and  exposed  themselves  to  the  common  dan- 
ger, they  should  be  entitled  to  a  participation  in 
the  common  blessings  which  crowned  their  efforts. 

"III.  France  was  negotiating  an  alliance  with 
the  United  Provinces  ;  and  nothing  could  have  re- 
tarded the  progress  of  that  alliance  more  effectual- 
ly than  the  demonstration  of  any  ill  will  against 
the  religion  which  France  professed. 


THE   CHURCH  IN  THE  REPUBLIC. 


95 


"  IV.  Tlio  aid,  or  at  least  the  neutrality,  of  Can- 
ada was  judged  necessary  for  the  success  of  the  en- 
terprise of  the  provinces  ;  and,  by  placing  the  Cath- 
olics on  a  level  with  all  other  Christians,  the  Cana- 
dians, it  was  believed,  could  not  but  be  favorably 
disposed  towards  the  revolution." 

He  adds  that  "  it  was  not  till  after  the  war  that 
the  good  effects  of  freedom  of  conscience  began  to 
develop  themselves."  And  in  a  letter  to  one  of  his 
English  friends,  written  in  1783,  he  says,  "  An  im- 
mense field  is  open  to  the  zeal  of  apostolic  men  — 
universal  toleration  throughout  this  immense  coun- 
try, and  innumerable  Roman  Catholics  going  and 
ready  to  go  into  the  new  regions  bordering  on  the 
Mississippi,  perhaps  the  finest  in  the  world,  and  im- 
patiently clamorous  for  clergymen  to  attend  them."  * 

The  apostolic  men  sighed  for  by  the  first  bishop 
were  soon  vouchsafed  to  him.  When  we  come  to 
make  their  acquaintance,  we  are  again  struck  with 
surprise  to  find  them  mostly  French.  To  that  illus- 
trious nation  it  was  given  to  supply  a  second  crop 
of  missionaries  to  this  continent.  The  revolution 
which  shook  down  so  many  noble  roofs,  and  in- 
gulfed so  many  holy  things,  in  France,  flung  out 
upon  England  and  America  the  choicest  spirits  of 
the  French  church.  Strange  and  wonderful  are  the 
decrees  of  Providence ;  for  who  could  think  that  to 
a  Mirabeau  or  a  Danton  the  Ohio  and  the  Penob- 
scot should  be  indebted  for  Christian  apostles  ?    Let 


*  Brent's  Sketch  of  Archbishop  Carroll,  p.  67. 


CATHOLIC  HISTORY  OP  AMERICA. 


J* 


i 


1/ 


US  select  from  the  west  and  the  east  a  representa- 
tive of  the  latter  French  missionaries  in  America, 
and  study  them  with  due  attention. 

Benedict  Joseph  Flaget  was  born  in  the  com- 
mune of  St.  Julien,  in  Auvergne,  France,  on  the  7th 
of  November,  1763.  After  his  studies  and  ordina- 
tion he  sailed  from  Bourdeaux  for  Philadelphia,  with 
the  Rev.  Messieurs  Chicoisneau,  David,  and  Badin, 
in  the  year  1792.  On  reaching  Baltimore  he  was 
despatched  to  the  distant  mission  of  Vincennes  — 
since  the  revolution,  no  longer  supplied  from  Que- 
bec. He  crossed  the  Alleghanies  in  a  wagon,  made 
some  stay  at  Pittsburg,  descended  the  Ohio  in  a 
flat  boat,  and  so  entered  on  his  labors.  For  fifty- 
seven  years  (from  1792  till  1849)  this  apostolic  man 
continued  his  mission  in  the  south-west,  as  priest, 
vicar  general,  and  bishop.  His  early  visits  usually 
count  by  hundreds  of  miles,  and  his  routes  were 
often  known  only  to  himself.  Where,  in  the  begin- 
ning, he  could  not  find  a  confessor  without  under- 
taking a  week's  journey,  he  lived  to  see  two  arch- 
bishops and  eight  bishops  presiding  over  a  numer- 
ous clergy  and  an  innumerable  laity.  Often  his 
only  chancel  had  been  the  bower  of  some  tall  tree, 
and  his  only  altar  a  rock  by  the  wayside.  His  first 
congregations  were  some  half-lost  Indians,  or  almost 
equally  neglected  French,  or  a  few  Irish  soldiers 
from  a  frontier  post,  under  Clarke  or  Wayne.  It 
was  his  lot  to  live  in  two  ages  of  the  American 
church.  In  half  a  century  he  had  seen  many  changes 
in  the  west,  but  none  so  profound  nor  so  important 


i 


THE  CHURCH  in  the  republic. 


97 


i. 


as  he  had  himself,  under  God,  been  instriiniental  in 
working.* 

A  not  less  amiable  representative  of  the  French 
clergy  is  found  contemporaneously  at  the  cast  in  the 
person  of  the  Abbe  Cheverus,  first  bishop  of  Bos- 
ton, afterwards  Cardinal  of  Bourdeaux.  This  emi- 
nent person,  born  at  Mayenne  on  the  28th  of  Janu- 
ary, 1768,  fled  from  the  irreligious  revolution  to 
England.  There  the  invitation  of  the  Abbe  Mati- 
gnon,  pastor  of  Boston,  reached  him :  having  accept- 
ed it,  he  reached  his  future  see  on  the  3d  of  Octo- 
ber, 1796.  In  1803  he  had  the  happiness  to  see  the 
first  church  consecrated  in  Boston  ;  and  in  1808 
Pius  VII.  raised  him  to  the  dignity  of  bishop.  For 
fifteen  years  he  continued  the  chief  pastor  of  all 
the  Catholics  of  New  England,  until  recalled  to 
still  higher  dignities  in  his  native  land.  The  story 
of  those  years  can  never  be  fully  told.  With  a  zeal 
that  never  flagged,  this  bishop  united  an  humility 
that  never  slept.  He  shrunk  from  all  conversation 
of  himself,  and  did  good  always  by  stealth.  On 
some  occasions  he  was  discovereci  by  the  sweet  odor 
of  liis  good  works.  His  annuui  visits  to  the  long 
shepherdless  savages  of  Maine  ;  his  prodigies  of 
charity  performed  in  the  alleys  of  the  city  during 
times  of  pestilence ;  his  heavenly  meekness  of  de- 
meanor on  all  occasions,  —  were  vividly  remembered 

*  The  life  of  this  admirable  person  —  the  first  bishop  of  the  -west  — 
has  been  beautifully  written  by  his  third  coadjutor  and  worthy  succes- 
sor, Bishop  Spalding.  Louisville:  Published  by  Webb  &  Levering, 
1853. 

9  / 


'98 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OP   AMERICA. 


as  long  as  one  of  his  contemporaries  rcmaiucd  in 
New  England.* 

While  to  France  belongs  the  glory  of  contributing 
a  majority  of  the  most  venerable  prelates  and  zeal- 
ous missionaries  to  the  newly-formed  church  in  this 
republic,  the  neighboring  state  of  Belgium  has 
claims  on  our  gratitude  hardly  less  honorable.  To 
her  we  owe  the  Badins,  De  Neckcr^s,  and  Nerinxkes 
among  the  dead,  and  their  worthy  successors  among 
the  living.  Italy,  also,  sent  her  model  of  a  bishop 
in  Dr.  Rosati  ;  Spain,  her  sainted  Varella  ;  while 
from  Russia  we  derived  Father  Demetrius  Gallitzin, 
prince  and  priest.  In  proportion  to  their  numbers, 
the  native  Catholics  always  contributed  their  rep- 
resentative share  to  the  councils  of  the  church, 
such  as  Drs.  Neale  and  Eccleston,  Archbishops  of 
Baltimore,  and  the  two  Bishops  Fenwick,  who  left 
indestructible  monuments  of  their  piety  and  wisdom 
in  Ohio  and  Massachusetts. 

The  church  of  Ireland,  partially  emancipated  by 
the  state  in  1793,  had  shown  the  greatest  zeal  in  the 
restoration  of  its  own  discipline,  and,  after  a  gen- 
eration, began  to  send  out  many  missionaries.  Its 
new  seminaries  swarmed  with  candidates  for  holy 
orders,  and,  incomplete  as  they  were,  produced  a  su- 
perabundant clergy.  Of  those  who  found  their  way 
into  America  it  would  be  impossible  to  give  a  list. 


■fe 


-J 


ii 


i 


II 


*  In  1823,  after  twenty-seven  years  on  the  American  mission,  he  re- 
turned to  France  and  was  made  Bishop  of  Montauban ;  in  1826,  Arch- 
bishop  of  Bourdeaux ;  in  1836,  cardinal.  On  the  19th  of  July,  the 
same  year,  he  expired ;  on  the  26th  he  was  interred  in  the  cathedral. 


>" 


■:  .3. 


■■> 


■fw- 


i 


THE  CIIURCU  IN  THE  REPUnLIC. 


99 


AVlicn,  in  1808,  Pope  Pius  VII.  erected  Boston, 
Bardstown,*  New  York,  and  Pliiladclpliia  into 
sees,  two  Irish  ecclesiastics,  Drs.  Egan  and  Conca- 
nen,  were  nominated  to  the  last-named  cities.  With 
one  exception  in  each  place,  both  sees  have  since 
been  filled  by  ecclesiastics  of  Irish  birth. 

Among  our  venerable  dead,  the  most  distinguished 
Irish  name  is  that  of  the  hrst  bishop  of  Charleston. 
John  England  was  born  in  Cork,  September  23, 
1786,  educated  at  Carlow  seminary,  and  consecrat- 
ed for  Charleston  in  1820.  He  died  in  the  city 
of  his  see  on  the  11th  of  April,  1842,  after  twenty- 
two  years  of  the  most  various  and  distinguished 
services  to  religion  in  America.  Nature  had  en- 
dowed this  eminent  prelate  with  a  vast  capacity 
and  a  temperament  insatiable  of  labor.  His  only 
rest  was  change  of  work.  History,  politics,  criti- 
cism came  as  familiar  to  his  pen  as  theology  or 
philosophy.  He  was  equally  happy  as  orator  and 
writer  ;  and  though  the  hurried  fragments  he  threw 
off  for  the  periodical  press  are  often  provokingly 
sketchy,  they  display  workings  of  a  powerful  mind, 
inspired  by  a  great  soul.  He  was  the  first  of  our  . 
prelates  who  desired  +o  bind  the  bays  of  literature 
round  the  brows  of  the  young  American  church. 
All  the  leisure  hours  he  could  conscientiously  spare 
from  the  visitation  of  his  immense  diocese  he  gave 
to  study  and  composition.  It  was  a  generous  re- 
gion, and  the  rage  of  the  sects  had  not  yet  been 


*  Translated  to  Louisville  hy  Papal  rescript  in  1841. 


"•OTVMNH 


100 


CATHOLIC   UISTOUY  OP  AMEIUCA. 


inflamed  to  fury.  Ilin  fame  difTusod  itsdf  from  city 
to  city,  80  tliat  whcrovcr  ho  preached  all  clansca 
gathered  to  listen.  In  New  Orleans  the  theatre  was 
deserted  for  the  church  ;  in  Boston  the  children  of 
the  Puritans  monopolized  the  cathedral ;  in  Ken- 
tucky the  backwoodsmen  escorted  him  in  admiration 
from  village  to  village  ;  in  Washington  the  congress 
invited  him  to  address  the  representatives  of  the 
nation  assembled  in  the  Capitol.  All  who  heard 
were  edified  ;  the  poor  understood,  the  scholars 
were  instructed.  With  the  generous  disregard  of 
the  body  natural  to  men  of  his  genius,  he  wore  out 
his  powerful  constitution  in  the  fifty-sixth  year  of 
his  age,  leaving  behind  him  a  memory  which  assur- 
edly shall  not  die. 

We  started  with  a  parallel  between  the  growth 
of  the  American  state  and  church.  In  1790  the 
state  counted  less  than  three  millions,  the  church 
some  fifty  thousand  ;  in  1820  the  state  had  increased 
to  nearly  ten  millions,  the  church  to  perhaps  one 
and  a  half ;  in  1840  the  state  was  seventeen  millions, 
the  church  (according  to  Bishop  England)  about 
three  millions.  In  the  half  century,  while  the  state 
had  more  than  quintupled,  the  church  had  multi- 
plied a  thousand  fold  I  The  state  had  added  Louis- 
iana, Florida,  and  the  north-western  territory  to  its 
domain  ;  the  church  had  simultaneously  embraced 
them  in  her  jurisdiction.  Congress  legislated  for 
the  tribes  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains,  governing 
from  ocean  to  ocean  ;  the  provincial  councils  had 
relations  as  widespread  and;,  cares  as  extensive  ; 


!    I 


\l 


THE   CllUnCII   IN  THE   lUOl'UnLlC. 


101 


Congress  had  swelled  to  four  tiinc.H  its  original 
numbers;  the  couneils  had  iucroarfcd  as  much  in 
proportion  within  half  the  titno.  To  our  own  day 
wo  need  not  push  the  par'allel  ;  it  is  of  more  conse- 
quence to  inquire  into  the  causes  of  so  marvellous 
an  increase. 

Of  the  new  territory  which  had  come  into  tho 
Union  since  tho  beginning  of  tho  century,  every 
square  mile  had  been  ruled  by  a  Catholic  power  and 
was  stamped  with  a  Catholic  character.  Wo  havo 
left  far  behind  all  question  of  priority  in  Maine,  Ver- 
mont, western  New  York,  Michigan,  and  Maryland. 
I  speak  now  of.  what  was  once  "  the  Illinois  coun- 
try," of  Louisiana,  of  Florida,  and  Texas  ;  let  mo 
add  also  New  Mexico  and  California  —  regions 
which  now  make'more  than  half  the  whole  area  of 
tlie  country.  From  whom  were  these  regions  de- 
tached ?  From  France,  Spain,  and  Mexico.  What 
was  their  character  when  they  peaceably  submitted 
to  your  laws  ?  A  Catholic  character  certainly. 
Their  original  contingent  of  population,  Indian,  half- 
breed,  or  white,  could  not  havo  fallen  short  of  a 
million  ;  and  tho  natural  increase  o'i  that  million 
may  have  been,  since  their  acquisition,  thirty  per 
cent.  I  do  not  wish  to  overstrain  such  conjectural 
statistics  ;  I  give  them  out  mainly  as  probable  ap- 
proximations to  the  uncertain  truth. 

From  Catholic  governments  has  come  all  our  in- 
crease of  territory,  while  emigration  has  been  a  chief 
source  of  our  increase  in  numbers.  If  the  popula- 
tion over  which  Washington  presidc*d  had  quad- 

9  * 


102 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OP  AMERICA. 


II 


rupled  in  two  generations,  we  would  have  found  but 
twelve  millions  in  1850,  where  we  find  twenty-four 
millions.  We  would  then  have  ranked  after  Prus- 
sia and  Spain,  and  before  Turkey  and  Brazil,  insteac* 
of  ranking  where  we  do.  Whence  came  the  other 
twelve  millions  ?  From  without ;  from  emigration ; 
from  the  increase  of  emigrants  this  side  of  Washing- 
ton's presidency. 

In  kind,  as  in  quantity,  this  emigration  was  ma- 
terially more  valuable  than  any  the  colonial  times 
had  known.  Its  uniform  poverty  was  its  most  use- 
ful quality.  There  was  an  immense  work  of  physi- 
cal development  to  be  quickly  done,  for  which  work 
an  emigration  of  laborers  was  the  prime  require- 
ment. A  proprietary,  or  company  emigration,  like 
that  to  Plymouth  or  Baltimore,  could  never  have 
supplied  this  element,  at  once  mobile  and  uncostly. 
It  was  needful  it  should  be  an  unorc^anized  emif^ra- 

i  tion,  in  order  that  it  might  be  more  easily  enlisted 
and  drafted  off  to  its  distant  stations.  The  Ger- 
man villagers,  who  march  iu  compact  procession 
from  the  ship's  side  to  the  far  west,  do  better  for 
Jiemselves,  but  not-for  the  country.  A  steady  sup- 
ply of  cheap  labor,  a  force  which  could  be  freely 
moved  from  point  to  point  of  national  development, 
w^hich  could  content  itself  to  camp  in  shanties,  and 
to  turn  its  hand  to  any  thing,   however  we  may 

^-  think  of  the  wisdom  of  those  who  composed  it,  was 
the  great  want  of  this  republic  in  the  last  half  cen- 
tury ;  and  that  want  Catholic  Ireland  supplied. 
Native  capital  and  native  schools  gave  it  captains 


i 


THE  CHURCH  IN  THE  REPUBLIC. 


103 


' 


I    ■ 


and  paymasters ;  but  the  Irish  were  the  rank  and 
file,  and  they  did  the  work. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  material  value  of  the  Irish 
emigration  to  the  state  :  let  us  consider  it  a  moment 
in  a  religious  point  of  view. 

The  first  Irish  emigrants,  or  exiles  rather,  had 
failed  to  implant  Catholicity  in  British  North  Amer- 
ica. In  retired  spots  of  Barbadocs  and  Jamaica, 
Maryland  and  Pennsylvania,  certain  favored  fami- 
lies, sprung  from  that  stock,  had  retained  the  tra- 
ditions of  their  fathers  ;  a  few  had  the  happiness 
never  to  be  totally  deprived  of  the  sacraments  ; 
but  the  vast  majority  had,  in  the  absence  of  church 
and  priest,  fallen  insensibly  away.  From  the  Eng- 
lish till  the  American  revolution,  this  is  the  sorrow- 
ful story  of  three  generditions.  A  better  day  had 
come  with  our  present  constitution,  and  the  second 
outpouring  from  Ireland  was  not  destined  to  be 
religiously  barren.  The  same  properties  which 
made  the  Irish  poor  essential  to  the  growth  of  the 
new  state,  made  them  most  serviceable  to  the  exten- 
sion of  the  new  church.  Their  poverty,  in  the  eye 
of  faith,  clothed  them  in  raiment  richer  than  kings  ; 
for,  of  all  its  titles,  Christianity  has  still  rejoiced 
most  to  be  called  "  the  religion  of  the  poor."  Our 
Lord  and  his  apostles,  —  were  they  not  poor  ?  Tho 
saints  and  servants  of  God  in  all  ages, —  did  they  not 
glory  in  poverty  ?  Who  can  forget  those  thrilling 
•words,  "  The  poor  you  have  with  you  always  "  ? 
Into  America,  destined  to  become  the  most  prosper- 
ous nation  tho  earth  had  seen  ;  where  wealth  was  to 


•4?. 


104 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OF  AMERICA. 


H 


be  the  rule,  and  poverty  the  exception  ;  where  gold 
was  to  circulate  through  all  classes,  rather  than  be 
shut  up  as  an  idol  in  temples  where  merchants  wor- 
ship, or  lavished  with  Assyrian  wastefulness  on 
the  palaces  of  effeminate  princes,  —  among  this  rich 
democracy,  unsightly  clans  of  strangers  —  poor,  ig- 
norant, despised,  but  believing  in  and  obeying  God 
—  were  to  bring,  wrapped  up  in  their  rags  or  hidden 
in  their  bosoms,  the  supernatural  seed,  whose  growth 
was  predestined  to  take  the  place  of  the  natural 
forest. 

Admire  the  wonderful  things  God  works  with 
the  humblest  instruments.  The  Puritan  possessed 
all  New  England  —  its  cornfields  and  villages,  its 
falling  and  flowing  waters,  its  soil  and  its  miner- 
als. He  planned  factories,  modelled  ships,  pro- 
jected new  routes  of  intercourse.  Outcast  Cath- 
olics came  to  his  gate,  asking  for  work  and  wages. 
They  were  welcome  ;  they  had  arrived  in  good 
time.  One  was  sent  to  the  ship  yard,  another  to 
the  mill,  a  third  to  the  railroad.  As  their  masters 
looked  on  approvingly  at  their  work,  they  dreamed 
not  that  every  man  there  was  fulfilling  a  double 
purpose  —  "  rendering  to  Caesar  the  things  that  are 
Cassar's,  and  to  God  the  things  that  are  God's." 
They  dreamed  not  that  the  carpenter's  axe  was  shap- 
ing out,  not  only  stanchions  and  ribs  of  ships,  but 
altars  and  crosses.  They  dreamed  not  that  the  com- 
mon lal^orer  in  the  field,  girt  with  the  sower's  sheet, 
'  was  casting  mysterious  mustard  seed  upon  New  Engr 
land  soil.     When  the  mill  agent  paid  over  his  hard- 


1 


.\\ 


THE  CHURCH  IN  THE  REPUBLIC. 


105 


': 


I 


\  •■ 


earned  wages  to  the  operatives,  little  he  dreamed 
that  on  the  morrow  a  part  of  that  Puritan  capital 
would  go  to  build  a  Popish  church,  or  pay  a  priest, 
or  to  erect  a  Catholic  school,  an  orphan  asylum,  or 
a  college.  Yet  so  it  had  been  ordered.  The  Puri- 
tan was  to  become  rich ;  and  the  Catholic  in  his 
poverty  was  to  come  after  him,  to  win  wages  from 
him  by  industry,  and  to  erect  in  the  land  of  the 
Puritan,  with  the  money  of  the  Puritan  himself,  the 
cross  the  Puritan  had  so  long  rejected. 

Out  of  New  England  the  same  Providence  is 
manifested.  The  merchants  of  New  York  desired 
to  unite  Lake  Erie  to  the  Hudson,  for  their  own 
profit.  An  army  of  Catholic  laborers  is  marshalled 
along  the  line.  They  penetrate  from  end  to  end  of 
the  great  state.  Their  shanties  spring  up  like  mush- 
rooms in  the  night,  and  often  vanish  like  mists  in 
the  morning.  To  all  human  appearances,  they  are 
only  diggin;^  a  canal.  Stump  orators  praise  them 
as  useful  spades  and  shovels,  who  helped  on  the 
great  work  of —  making  money.  But  looking  back 
to-day,  with  the  results  of  a  third  of  a  century 
before  us,  it  is  plain  enough  those  poor,  rude,  and 
homeless  men  were  working  on  the  foundations  of 
three  episcopal  sees,  were  choosing  sitep.  for  five 
hundred  churches,  were  opening  the  interior  of  the 
state  to  the  empire  of  religion,  as  well  as  of  com- 
merce. >'  :  . 

The  same  tale  may  be  told  of  the  mines  of  Penn- 
sylvania, Illinois,  and  Lake  Superior.  They  ar^  the 
catacombs  of  the  church  in  their  several,  ?;igigfens. 


...  ^ 


106 


CATHOLIC  HISTORY  OP  AMERICA. 


in  unwholesome  damp,  in  caTernons  darkness,  in 
life-shortening  toil,  uncheered  by  air  or  sun,  the  Irish 
and  German  miner  has  wrought  not  for  himself  only, 
but  for  the  church.  Reckless,  profane,  intemperate 
he  may  sometimes  be,  but  beyond  almsgiving  never. 
Ask  the*  missionary  of  a  mineral  district  if  he 
has  found  those  workers  in  lead  and  iron  hard  or 
stolid  men.  Have  they  preferred  natural  dark- 
ness to  heavenly  light?  Has  their  unenviable 
lot  made  them  callous  to  the  call  of  charity,  or  in- 
sensible to  the  love  of  God  ?  He  will  tell  you  that 
among  those,  sons  of  earth,  those  familiars  of  dark- 
ness, he  has  often  met  the  tcnderest  piety,  the  most 
fervent  faith,  and  the  noblest  generosity  towards 
religion. 

In  the  humbler  regions,  in  the  corn-growing 
country,  in  the  river  towns  of  the  south-west,  among 
"  the  'long-shore  men  "  on  the  Atlantic,  our  religion 
has  found  her  readiest  resources.  Never  was  there 
a  church  which  could  so  truly  be  called  the  church 
of  the  poor  and  of  the  people.  No  Constantine,  no 
Clovis,  no  royal  apostle  like  St.  Olaf  or  St.  Eric 
has  been  here.  The  alms  of  the  poor  laid  the  broad 
foundation,  the  mechanics  raised  the  walls,  the  ser- 
vants adorned  the  sanctuaries.  This  is  the  true 
glory  and  true  history  of  the  church  in  America  — 
a  glory  and  history  most  largely  shared  by  her  Irish 
children.  Great  material  works  they  will  leave 
behind  them,  but  far  greater  moral  consequences ; 
cathedrals,  not  canals,  shall  be  their  witnesses  with 
posterity ;  the  church  in  the  new  world  shall  be 
their  enduring  monument. 


*^'^^^ 


.  / 


THE  CHtmCII  IN  THE  REPUBLIC. 


107 


The  last  complete  exhibition  of  the  extent  of  the 
church  in  this  republic  was  the  national  council 
which  assembled  in  Baltimore  on  the  9th  of  May, 
1852.  It  was  presided  over  by  the  illustrious  and 
most  reverend  Francis  Patrick  Kendrick,  ablegate 
of  the  holy  see.  Eight  archbishops,  twenty-six 
bishops,  and  one  mitred  abbot,  with  their  several 
chaplains  and  theologians,  were  present  ;  the  prel- 
ates of  Oregon,  California,  New  Mexico,  and  the 
Indian  territory  included.  The  jurisdiction  of  that 
august  assembly  extended  wherever  our  flag  flies. 
In  all  the  requirements  of  Christian  rulers,  —  in 
piety,  learning,  wisdom,  energy,  eloquence,  address, 
—  the  least  partial  observer  must  have  admitted 
them  "to  be  well  qualified.  Those  who  looked 
deeply  at  that  august  array,  gathered  from  the  four 
winds,  representing  the  Indian,  Spanish,  French, 
American,  German,  and  Irish  populations  of  the 
continent,  must  have  felt  how  truly  it  deserved  to 
be  called  Catholic.  Sixty  years  before,  Dr.  Carroll 
summoned  his  synod  in  that  same  city.  He  was 
then  the  only  bishop  in  this  republic.  His  three 
vicars,  the  president  of  his  local  seminary,  and  six- 
teen priests  came  at  his  invitation.  The  older 
missionaries  thanked  God  they  had  lived  to  see  the 
wonderful  things  they  saw.  If  it  had  been  possible 
so  far  to  prolong  the  span  of  human  life,  if  the 
venerable  Carroll  C9uld  have  lived  to  see  this  sight, 
his  reason  might  have  doubted  its  reality.  He  had 
sung  the  song  of  triumph,  exulting  in  his  day ;  but 
how  much  more  would  he  rejoice  if  he  had  lived 


108 


CATHOLIC  HISTORY  OP  AMERICA. 


to  witness  the  council  over  which  Archbishop  Ken- 
drick  presided  I 

With  his  thorough  knowledge  of  the  past  history 
of  religion  in  America,  he  would  have  said,  "  The 
Invocation  of  our  Blessed  Lady  by  those  first  voy- 
agers was  not  in  vain.  Not  in  vain  was  the  blood 
of  the  holy  martyrs  shed  on  the  Penobscot,  the  Mo- 
hawk, at  the  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  at  Natchez,  and  in 
Florida.  Not  in  vain  did  the  children  of  St.  Igna- 
tius and  St.  Dominic  cross  the  Atlantic  ten  genera- 
tions ago  to  found  an  American  church.  It  is 
founded  ;  it  stands ;  and  it  shall  stand  I "  Ay,  it 
shall  stand, —  - 

"  Moored  in  the  rifted  roc^, 
Proof  to  the  tempest  shock ; 
Deeper  it  strikes,  the  louder  it  blows ! " 


•         I 


It  shall  stand  ;  and  successive  generations,  gath- 
ered in  the  shelter  of  its  gigantic  wings,  may  well 
wonder  why  it  was  ever  hated,  or  feared,  or  misun- 
derstood. They  will  need  no  lecturer  to  tell  them 
then  of  the  Catholic  history  of  North  America  ; 
they  will  learn  it  in  the  songs  of  their  mothers,  in 
the  stories  of  their  fathers,  from  pictures  on  their 
walls,  from  statues  in  the  streets,  from  their  earliest 
school  books  and  earliest  associates.  This  is  no 
distempered  dream.  If  half  a  century  has  done  so 
much  for  the  church  in  the  republic,  why  may  not 
another  half  do  as  much  more,  if  the  fault  be  not 
our  own?  ,       .  .       '  = 

One  lesson  we  must  learn  ourselves  and  teach  our 


I 


THE  CHURCH  IN  THE  REPUBLIC. 


109 


*  I 


children.  It  is,  to  know  our  antecedents ;  to  glo- 
ry in  our  predecessors  in  the  faith ;  to  be  ever  ready- 
to  explain,  but  never  to  apologize,  for  the  faith  of 
our  fathers.  True,  our  American  predecessors  for 
the  most  part  belong  not  to  your  nationality  nor 
to  mite ;  they  are  Italians,  Spaniards,  Frenchmen. 
True  that  none  among  us  may  inherit  the  blood  of 
the  Catholic  queen  or  the  pious  admiral ;  yet  do 
they  belong  to  us  and  we  to  them.  Catholicity  rec- 
ognizes nationalities  only  to  unite  them.  We  are 
alike  members  of  a  corporation  that  cannot  die. 
They  are  united  to  antiquity  as  we  are  to  them  ; 
the  first  born  of  our  household  saw  Christ ;  our 
last  born  shall  see  Antichrist.  Mystical  bonds  bind 
us  together,  stretching  far  away  beyond  the  grave 
of  the  past  and  the  cradle  of  the  future.  As  one 
in  faith  and  in  sacrifice,  Time  shall  know  us,  and 
pass  us  on  into  Eternity. 

In  her  mature  age  the  Catholic  church  begot 
America,  before  Protestantism  was  born  in  a  by- 
way of  Germany.  The  heart  of  our  Holy  Mother 
has  always  yearned  for  this  Benjamin  of  her  house- 
hold. The  most  illustrious  Catholics  have  taken 
the  deepest  interest  in  American  affairs :  to  mention 
St.  Francis  Borgia,  and  St.  Francis  Regis,  Cardinal 
Ximenes,  Bishop  Las  Casas,  Queen  Isabella,  Colum- 
bus, De  Soto,  and  Champlain,  were  enough.  Many 
others  are  almost  equally  worthy  of  commemora- 
tion among  us  ;  but  the  roll  would  be  long  to  call, 
and  their  services  God  alone  can  requite. 

From  the  beginning  of  her  civilized  existence, 
'•  10  ^ 


110 


CATHOLIC  HISTORY  OP  AMERICA. 


America  owes  every  thing  to  Catholicity,  to  Saxon 
England,  to  orthodox  France,  to  pious  Spain  ;  above 
all,  to  Rome.  Every  order  in  the  church,  from  the 
mendicant  friar  to  the  pope  on  his  throne,  has  had 
a  hand  in  your  development.  In  the  church,  by 
children  of  the  church,  the  very  arts  and  means 
were  made  by  which  America  was  discovered  and 
explored.  Geography  rescued  by  monks  from  the 
hands  of  Vandals  ;  astronomy  nourished  in  the  clois- 
ters and  cathedrals  of  the  middle  ages  ;  missionary 
memoirs  of  distant  lands  leading  timorous  Commerce 
in  the  wake  of  fearless  Christianity  ;  the  discovery 
of  the  compass  by  a  Neapolitan  ;  the  sacred  shield 
of  the  church  held  over  peaceful  travellers  and  all 
men  of  science  who  sought  not  to  give  the  lie  to 
God,  —  these  are  debts  which  America  owes  to  the 
Catholic  church.  Did  ever  ocean  enterprise  appeal 
in  vain  to  the  sanction  of  that  church  which  claimed 
to  teach  all  nations?  Inquire  of  JPortugal  and 
Spain.  Did  ever  lawful  commerce  find  an  enemy 
in  Rome  ?  Look  to  the  code  of  Amalfi,  the  excom- 
munication against  those  who  waylaid  merchants, 
to  the  favor  shown  the  Hanseatic  league,  to  Pisa  and 
to  Venice  ;  above  all,  look  to  the  life  of  Columbus. 
This  continent  discovered,  who  are  its  bravest 
pioneers  —  the  men  of  trade,  or  the  men  of  faith  ? 
What  light  is  that  we  see  shooting  through  the  in- 
terior forest,  tempting  the  student's  eye  to  follow  ? 
Before  the  fire  of  the  trapper's  gun  struck  down  his 
woodland  game,  before  the  edge  of  the  exile's  axe 
had  caught  a  ray  of  western  sunshine,  a  mild  and 


V 


THE  CHURCH  IN  THE  IlEPUBLIO. 


Ill 


l 


steady  light  is  perceptible  in  the  primitive  forest ; 
and  by  its  friendly  aid  we  discover  the  Indian 
kneeling  before  the  pine-tree  cross,  while  "  the  black 
robe  "  pours  on  his  humbled  head  the  waters  of  re- 
generation. 

Colonization  commences,  and  the  church  steps  in 
to  arbitrate  between  Christian  princes  ;  to  protect 
the  outraged  savages  ;  to  declare  the  moral  obliga- 
tions of  sovereignty  ;  to  preach  peace,  and  justice, 
and  mercy  in  the  van  of  armies,  in  the  camps  of 
conquerors,  in  the  councils  of  ambitious  settlers 
and  speculators  from  Europe.  Go  learn  of  the 
Catholics  who  colonized  on  the  St.  Lawrence,  the 
Wabash,  the  Potomac,  and  the  Apalachicola,  two 
centuries  ago,  the  unity  of  the  human  race,  the 
true  brotherhood  of  man,  the  just  foundation  of 
equal  rights. 

And  when  our  own  republic  assumes  its  separate 
state  and  proclaims  its  independent  will,  how 
promptly  Rome  concedes  it  a  separate  episcopacy  I 
how  tenderly  she  fosters  it!  how  proudly  she  ca- 
resses it! 

Our  history  in  America,  my  dear  friends,  is  noble 
and  encouraging.  Its  more  frequent  study  must  make 
us  love  the  country  better,  and  the  ch"vch  not  less. 
It  must  also  help  to  inspire  that  easy  and  habitual 
sense  of  social  right  so  necessary  to  enable  us  to 
discharge  gracefully  all  the  obligations  good  citi- 
zens owe  to  a  good  government. 


THE  RELATIONS  OF  IRELAND  AND 
AMERICA. -TWO  DISCOURSES. 


i.W 


I. -HISTORICAL  RELATIONS.* 

.',14 

If,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  the  present  exciting  po- 
litical discussion  about  the  place  and  position  of 
foreigners  in  the  United  States  is  to  be  deplored,  it 
is  rather  on  account  of  the  tone  and  temper  than  of 
the  subject  matter  of  the  discussion.  No  political 
question  can  be  more  worthy  the  attention  of  a 
great  and  fast-spreading  commonwealth  than  the 
elements  which  compose  it  and  give  it  vigor,  the 
foreign  admixtures  it  receives,  the  influences  which 
act  on  it  from  within  or  from  without.  It  is  only 
'  when  the  examination  becomes  an  angry  argument, 
when  men  fail  in  mutual  courtesy  and  in  the  self- 


I 


*  Some  repetition  of  ideas  presented  in  the  last  discourse  on  the 
Catholic  history  v/iU  be  detected  in  this  and  the  following  lecture ;  but 
as  the  subject  is  here  treated  from  a  new  point  of  Tiew,  and  with  fuller 
details  than  would  be  proportionate  in  the  previous  discourses,  we  hope 
the  courteous  reader  will  forgive  a  few  repetitions  which  could  not  weU 
be  avoided.    "  . 

''  (112) 


IIISTOUICAL  RELATIONS. 


113 


p03scsHion  becoming  tlios^o  who  dcbato,  not  for  tri- 
umph, but  for  truth,  that  Hiicli  discussions  turn  to 
public  pests,  and  call  aloud  for  quarantine  regula- 
tion. 

I  may  have  some  views  to  advance  to-night  which 
are  not  generally  acceptable  ;  I  shall  have  to  state 
some  facts  not  currently  quoted  ;  but  I  trust  my 
words  will  be  without  olVence  to  any  honest  man  : 
and  as  to  the  proofs,  let  them  speak  for  themselves. 
I  desire  to  advance  no  claims  which  the  facts  will 
not  warrant ;  and  the  public  shall  bo  the  judge  be- 
tween the  facts  and  the  conclusions  I  may  draw. 

The  United  States,  as  they  stand  to-day,  have  had 
two  main  sources  of  population  —  the  colonial  popu- 
h  tion  as  it  existed  at  the  date  of  the  revolution, 
and  extraneous  additions  since  the  revolution.  If 
we  arc  to  analyze  the  first  period,  we  must  be  guided 
by  the  state  papers,  colonial  and  British  ;  by  local 
histories  and  memoirs  of  new  settlements  ;  by  that 
series  of  historical  documents  in  which  every  state 
of  the  old  thirteen  is  still  able  to  trace  its  origin 
with  tolerable  accuracy.  > 

In  all  our  colonial  memoirs  we  find  the  cardinal 
defect  of  European  history ;  they  are  the  story  of 
the  few,  told  by  the  partisans  of  the  few  ;  they  go  to 
exalt  great  names,  not  to  show  the  social  condition 
of  the  many.  The  proprietary  system,  under  which 
the  colonization  first  began,  necessarily  gave  the 
turn  of  panegyric  to  all  those  first  accounts  ;  for 
family  pride  was  not  thrown  overboard  in  the  outer 
voyage.     In  every  history  of  Virginia,  it  is  easy  to 

10* 


.114 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OP  AMERICA, 


find  who  was  colonel  or  who  wag  councillor  to  the 
governor  ;  in  every  history  of  Massachusetts,  it  is 
equally  easy  to  find  who  "  was  a  gentleman  in  good 
circumstances,  that  camo  out  with  Governor  Win- 
throp,"  but  not  so  easy  to  ascertain  who  was  tho 
eon  of  the  nameless  mechanic,  or  common  cultivator, 
without  whoso  presence  hero  there  could  have  been 
no  Massachusetts  and  no  Virginia. 

Of  two  classes  in  our  original  population  it  is 
next  to  impossible  to  find  any  record  ;  I  mean  tho 
convicts  and  the  redcmptioners.  Did  these  classes 
leave  no  descendants  ?  Or  are  we  to  account  for 
,  the  modern  silence  in  relation  to  them  on  tho  prin- 
ciple of  that  mistaken  pride  of  pedigree,  in  which 
not  even  the  Spaniard  or  the  Magyar  exceeds  some 
of  our  republicans  ?  If  family  pride  conceals  tho 
true  or  invents  a  false  origin  for  its  American  tree, 
it  is  as  ignorant  as  it  is  inconsistent.  It  ought  to 
be  thought  no  disgrace  to  descend  from  men  who 
yvcre ^convicts  under  the  barbarous  English  penal 
code  of  the  seventeenth  century  ;  a  code  which  pun- 
ished OYCi' four  hundred  different  offences  with  death ; 
a  code  which,  under  Cromwell's  commonwealth,  ex- 
ecuted three  thousand  unfortunate  wretches  for 
witchcraft ;  a  code  which,  in  the  absolute  days  of 
the  Stuarts,  made,  and  even  till  our  own  day  makes, 
the  shooting  of  a  partridge  a  capital  felony.  Those 
among  us  who  claim  to  be  of  tlie  best  families  boast 
that  their  ancestors  were  fugitives  from  British  law 
as  it  formerly  existed.  What  advantage  can  the 
fugitive  claim  over  the  convict,  except  the  advantage 


I 


HISTORICAL  RELATIONS. 


115 


of  escape  over  eonviction  ?  It  is  altogether  a  ques- 
tion of  time  and  of  terms,  not  at  uU  of  real  diflfcr- 
cncc  or  of  ncceHHfiry  superiority. 

The  coiivict  elass  in  our  colonial  population  was 
largo  in  tho  seventeenth  century  ;  and  though  its 
mortality  was  immcuse,  its  increase  was  not  wholly 
cut  off.  It  was  in  the  year  1G19,  I  believe,  that 
King  James  I.  shipped  tho  first  cargo  of  convicts 
to  Virginia,  consijting  of  one  hundred  souls.  Tho 
custom  was  continued  annually  till  tho  early  part 
of  tho  reign  of  George  III.,  notwithstanding  tho 
frequent  remonstrances  and  sometimes  the  success- 
ful opposition  of  tho  free  settlers.  In  six  years 
after  the  first  transportation  nine  thousand  convicts 
had  arrived  in  Virginia ;  but  such  were  tho  hard- 
ships to  which  they  were  exposed,  that  only  eighteen 
hundred,  or  twenty  per  cent,  of  tho  whole,  remained 
in  the  colony.  It  is  not  necessary,  I  repeat,  to  sup- 
pose this  unhappy  class  to  be  composed  of  criminal 
offenders  ;  the  English  gallows  did  its  work  too 
thoroughly  for  that.  Insurgent  peasants  who  re 
sisted  the  enclosure  of  common  lands,  minor  offend- 
ers, and  at  some  periods  political  offenders,  were 
those  usually  sentenced  for  life  "to  his  majesty's 
tobacco  plantations  in  America." 

The  Irish  policy  of  the  lord  protector  was  depop- 
ulation, and  during  his  ten  years'  iron  rule  a  vast 
number  of  our  people  were  "  transported  beyond 
seas."  The  republican  commissioners  appointed  by 
him  to  report  on  the  condition  of  Ireland,  recom- 
mended in  1652,  among  other  measures, "  that  Irish- 


1,4 

m 


\\- 


M 


116 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY   OF   AMERICA. 


i!'! 


I'll 


women,  as  being  too  nuincroiis  now,  aiid  therefore  ex- 
posed to  prostitution^  (the  hypocrites!)  he  sold  to  mer- 
chants, and  transported  to  Virginia,  New  England, 
Jamaica,  or  other  countries,"  where,  of  course,  they 
could  not  be  exposed  to  such  temptation.  Sir  Wil- 
liam Petty  states  that  six  thousand  boys  and  women 
were  shipped  to  the  West  Indies  alone  ;  Bruodin, 
another  contemporary,  sets  down  the  entire  number 
transported  in  Cromwell's  ten  years  at  one  hun- 
dred thousand  souls  ;  a  manuscript  in  the  late  Dr. 
Lingard's  possession  set  the  total  at  sixty  thousand. 
The  whole  white  population  in  British  America,  at 
that  time,  was  not  as  many  more. 

The  pretended  Popish  plots  in  Charles  11. 's  reign  • 
the  revolution  of  1G88,  which  fell  so  heavily  on  Ire- 
land ;  the  laws  of  William  restricting  Irish  manu 
factures  ;  and  the  laws  of  Anne  extirpating  Catholic 
worship,  —  directly  operated  to  drive  a  part  of  every 
Catholic  generation  out  of  Ireland.  The  present 
Earl  Fitzwilliam  (than  whom  no  English  statesman 
has  a  better  collection  of  Irish  statistics)  has  stated 
the  number  of  expatriated  "  Irish  operatives  "  in  the 
reign  of  King  William  at  one  hundred  thousand. 
A  large  proportion  of  these  entered  the  military 
service  of  the  Catholic  powers  of  the  old  continent, 
where  France,  Spain,  Austria,  and  even  Russia,  still 
cherish  with  affection  traditions  of  their  Irish  sol- 
diers. What  proportion  of  the  total  found  their 
way  to  xVmeriea,  I  am  unable  to  discover.  That  the 
number  was  large,  we  may  infer  from  tlie  general 
statements  of  our  best  local   historians.     Bozniau 


tH 


?#i 


"       \ 


HISTORICAL   RELATIONS. 


117 


naentions  tlie  Irish  insurrection  of  1041  as  liaving 
"  affected  the  population  of  tlie  province  "  of  Mary- 
land. "  Of  all  other  countries,"  says  Dr.  Ilainsay, 
in  his  History  of  South  Carolina,  "  none  has  fur- 
nished the  colony  with  so  many  inhabitants  as  Ire- 
land. Scarce  a  ship  sailed  from  any  of  its  ports  for 
Charleston  that  was  not  crowded  with  men,  wo- 
men, and  children."  In  North  Carolina,  'the  de- 
scendants of  early  Irish  emigrants  played  a  princi- 
pal part  throughout  the  last  century  ;  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, if  Holmes's  statistics  for  1729  do  not  form  a 
very  exceptional  case,  the  arrivals  from  Ireland  were 
almost  ten  to  one  to  those  from  the  rest  of  Europe, 
being  five  thousand  six  hundred  and  fifty-five  Irish 
to  six  hundred  and  fifty-six  from  all  other  coun- 
tries. Among  these  emigrants  were  some  of  fallen 
fortune  and  good  education.  The  Moores,  Lynches, 
Burkes,  and  Rutledges,  Avho  figure  in  the  history  of 
the  Carolinas,  were  of  the  best  blood  of  Catholic 
Ireland.  Another  class  became  successful  mer- 
chants ;  as  the  Moylans,  Sheas,  Meases,  and  Dela- 
neys,  of  the  port  of  Philadelphia.  Others  still  be- 
came noted  as  teachers  ;  as  Thomas  Neil,  mentioned 
in  the  Ilistojy  of  Wyoming,  and  the  father  of  the 
Sullivans  —  one  of  the  most  honorably  distinguished 
families  in  the  revolutionary  history  of  New  Eng- 
land. 

A  large  portion  of  the  early  Irish  emigrants 
probably  belonged  to  the  class  called,  in  colonial 
phrase,  redemptioners.  These  were  persons  unable 
to  pay  their  own  passage  out ;  who  bound  themselves 


118 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY   OP   AMERICA. 


by  contract  to  serve  a  certain  period  here,  to  redeem 
their  passage.  Like  the  convicts  to  the  tobacco 
plantations,  it  is  impossible  now  to  collect  the  sta- 
tistics of  the  northern  redemptioners.  They  were  a 
numerous  class,  and  some  of  the  most  honored 
names  in  our  history  were  redemptioners.  Secretary 
Thompson  was  ono  ;  Matthew  Thornton  was  one  ; 
the  parents  of  Major  General  and  Governor  Sulli- 
van were  redemptioners* 

There  is  another  remarkable  class  of  Irish  emi- 
grants previous  to  the  revolution ;  I  mean  "  the 
Scotch-Irish."  These  began  to  emigrate  in  consid- 
erable numbers  about  the  beginning  of  the  last 
century.    Mr.  Dobbs,  M.  P.  for  Armagh  at  that 


*  By  the  British  Emigration  Commissioners'  report  for  1854,  we  find 
that  the  same  practice  —  which  they  erroneously  call  "  a  new  princi- 
ple "  —  has  been  introduced  into  the  economy  of  Australian  emigra- 
tion.   They  report :  — 

"  In  New  South  Wales  a  new  principle  has  been  introduced  of  great 
importance,  and  which,  if  it  succeeds,  will  effect  a  considerable  change 
in  the  position  of  the  emigrants  selected  and  sent  out  by  this  board. 
The  object  of  this  change  is  to  make  the  emigration  to  a  great  extent 
self-supporting.  With  this  view,  the  price  of  passage  to  a  firs:t-clas3 
emigrant  is  fixed  at  thirteen  pounds,  and  to  the  second  class  at  fifteen 
pounds,  and  these  amounts  are  required  to  be  paid  by  or  on  account  of 
each  emigrant  either  in  this  country  or  in  the  colony. 

"  To  carry  out  the  scheme,  an  act  was  passed  by  the  legislature, 
providing  that  all  emigrants  sent  out  at  the  expense  of  public  funds 
should,  before  embarkation,  enter  into  an  agreement  with  us  either  to 
repay  the  amount  still  remaining  due  from  them  within  fourteen  days 
of  their  arrival  in  the  colony,  or  to  take  service  for  t^o  years  with  an 
employer,  who  should  undertake  to  repay  that  amount  out  of  their  ac- 
cruing wages.  But  a  power  is  reserved  to  the  emigrant  to  terminate 
such  agreements  after  the  first  twelve  months,  by  giving  three  months' 
notice,  and  paying  up  the  unpaid  instalments  of  the  passage  money." 


HISTORICAL  RELATIONS. 


119 


•■ 


\  , 


period,  stated  the  average  number  at  three  thousand 
a  year.     Hillsboro'  county,  New  Hampshire,  Ulster 
county,  New  York,  western  Pennsylvania,  and  west- 
ern Virginia,  were  their  chief  settlements.    They 
were   a  frugal,  hardy,  intrepid  race  of  Sdoticized 
Celts.     They  have  givuu  niaiiy  illustrious  names  to 
this  nation.     Montgomery,   Stark,  Reed,  Maxwell, 
McDowell,  and  Jackson  arc  all  derived  from  tho 
stout  Scotch-Irish.     They  are  more  easily  found  in 
our  history  than  their  Catholic  or  old  Irish  contem- 
poraries, because  they  are  always  met  in  groups ; 
because  their  kirk  was  encouraged  and  our  church 
■was  proscribed  before  the  revolution  ;  because  they 
"wore  frequently  proprietors,  and  our  class  were 
generally  laborers,  without  any  fixed  abodes  or 
church  organization.    I  honor  and  admire  the  thrift- 
ing  and  ambitious  Scotch-Irish  ;  but  I  do  not  believe 
that  they  at  any  time  constituted  the  numerical 
majority,  nor  even  a  half,  of  the  Irish  in  America. 
My  first  argument  is  this  —  that  from  the  reign 
of  James  I.  till  the  revolution,  a  period  of  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  years,  there  were  always  Irish  in 
America ;  that  in  Cromweirs  time,  especially,  an 
immense  infusion  of  that  race  took  place  ;   that 
having  no  special  religious  organization,  and  occu- 
pying no  exclusive  ground,  they  got  mingled  up 
from  the  start  into  the  very  being  of  the  old  (;olo- 
nial  population  ;  and  that  the  revolution  was  com- 
menced by  a  people,  not  numerous  even  then,  who 
must  have  had  almost,  if  not  quite,  as  much  Irish 
blood  in  them  as  any  other  blood.    To  make  it 


'ii 


120 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY   OP  AMERICA. 


plainer  still,  let  me  say,"  in  the  language  used  in 
1843  b}"  Mr.  Conrad,  of  Pliiladelpliia,  that  Ireland 
is  historically,  I  will  not  say,  with  him,  "  the  moth- 
er country,"  but  one  of  the  parent  sources  of  our 
native  population.  I  leave  it  to  the  curious  in 
figures  to  calculate  her  precise  contingent ;  I  am 
content  to  show  that  she  had  her  share  in  the  popu- 
lation from  the  first,  as  she  has  now,  and  that  the 
current  theory  which  derives  our  national  life,  and 
therefore  our  national  obligations  to  the  past,  sole- 
ly from  the  Anglo-Saxon  stock,  is  historically  false, 
besides  being  politically  fatal  to  the  true  greatness 
of  America. 

It  may  be  objected  that  the  very  fact  of  hav- 
ing to  argue  the  question  of  our  origin  at  this  late 
day  makes  against  my  first  conclusion.  I  d'eny 
that  it  does  so.  Fifty  years  ago  it  stood  in  no  need 
of  argument  in  the  majority  of  the  states  ;  it  never 
entered  the  heads  of  our  predecessors  here  that 
their  countrymen  would  be  treated  as  intruders 
after  their  time,  and  ingratitude  be  shown  to  the 
dead  to  cover  over  injustice  to  the  living.  They 
made  no  books  out  of  their  exploits  ;  they  preferred 
no  posthumous  claims  upon  national  remembrance. 
The  names  of  Hand,  Moylan,  Barry,  Fitzsimons, 
and  the  brave  O'Briens,  of  Machias,  were  almost 
forgotten,  when  I,  myself,  rescued-  them  from  the 
moth  and  mildew  and  the  studied  neglect  of  sec- 
tional bookmakers.  The  work  of  historical  retri- 
bution has  only  begun  ;  but  with  the  blessing  of 
God  it  will  be  followed  up,  until  we  show  our 


■\ 


HISTORICAL  RELATIONS. 


121 


4^^ 


•  1 


boastful  Anglo-Saxon  theorists  that  the  race  they 
thought  politically  dead  in  Europe  had  a  resurrection 
in  America,  and  that  from  America  it  can  still  send 
its  strong  voice  across  the  waves,  to  tell  our  mother- 
land to  be  of  good  cheer,  for  the  day  of  her  deliv- 
erance also  will  assuredly  come  round. 

I  pass  from  the  colonial  to  the  revolutionary 
period  —  that  stirring  and  brilliant  generation, 
which  began  with  the  non-importation  agreement, 
and  ended  with  the  federal  constitution.  Many 
details  are  not  necessary  here,  for  this  subject  is 
familiar  to  you  all.  Let  me  briefly  remind  you  of 
Ireland's  relations  with  Amei'ica  at  that  trying 
period.  And  while  I  recall  the  facts,  so  glorious 
to  the  people  to  whom  I  belong,  do  not  misunder- 
stand me.  We  ask  no  gratitude  on  account  of  the 
past ;  but  we  invoke  the  past  to  rebuke  the  injus- 
tice of  the  present.  We  call  on  the  dead,  not  for 
patronage,  but  for  reference  ;  and  we  would  desire 
nothing  better  for  our  cause  than  that  the  august 
form  which  led  them  living  might  arise  in  the 
front  rank  of  the  solemn  inquest,  and  seal  the  gen- 
eral verdict  with  the  supreme  authority  of  Wash- 
ington. 

At  the  period  of  the  first  rupture  between  the 
colonies  and  Great  Britain,  Ireland  contained 
above  four  million  inhabitants,  and  the  colonics 
less  than  three  millions.  Ireland  had  a  local  legis- 
lature, whose  proposed  acts  had  first  to  pass  the 
King's  Privy  Council ;  in  1782  this  restriction  was 
first  removed.    Abroad,  besides  the   Irish  in  the 

11 


»t* 


i 


mi 


!5't 


!, 


122 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OF   AMERICA. 


colonies,  there  were  two  remarkable  sets  of  Irish- 
men, officers  in  the  French  service,  and  writers  and 
orators  in  England.  What  was  the  relation  of  the 
Irish  classes  towards  the  American  cause  ?  One  of 
uniform  friendship,  of  enthusiastic  admiration,  of 
practical  and  powerful  cooperation. 

Wq  will  speak  first  of  the  parent  stock.  By  a 
singular  concurrence,  Ireland  and  America  began 
clamoring  at  the  gates  of  British  power  for  redress 
at  one  and  the  same  time.  Both  began  with  the 
navigation  act,  with  taxation,  and  free  trade  ;  both 
advanced  by  degrees  to  declarations  of  political 
sovereign^v  —  America  in  '76,  Ireland  in  1780; 
both  obtained  the  recognition  of  their  demands  the 
same  year,  from  the  same  ministry  and  the  same 
monarch.  This  identity  of  causes  produced  identity 
of  feeling ;  identity  of  feeling  led  to  open  acts  of 
sympathy  and  correspondence ;  the  double  diver- 
sion thus  effected  was  mutually  beneficial.  Ameri- 
ca's resistance  gave  Ireland  an  opportunity  to  pro- 
pose her  ultimatum. ;  and  Ireland's  ultimatum  helped 
to  hasten  the  recognition  of  America's  independ- 
ence. 

Let  me  quote  a  few  authorities  for  this  exposi- 
tion. In  1771  Dr.  Franklin  visited  Dublin,  of 
which  visit  he  writes  to  Thomas '  Gushing,  of  Bos- 
ton :  "  Before  leaving  Ireland,  I  must  mention 
that,  being  desirous  of  seeing  the  principal  patriots 
there,  I  staid  till  the  opening  of  their  parliament. 
I  found  them  disposed  to  be  friends  to  America,  in 
which  I  endeavored  to  confirm  them,  witxi  the  ex- 


,  ;>• 


i      I 


HISTORICAL  RELATIONS. 


123 


pectation  that  our  growing  weight  might  in  time 
be  thrown  into  their  scale,  and,  by  joining  our  inter- 
est with  theirs,  a  more  equitable  treatment  from 
this  ration  (England)  might  he  obtained  for  them  as 
well  as  for  us." 

When,  in  1775,  the  Continental  Congress  resolved 
openly  to  cast  oif  the  yoke,  they  directed  addresses, 
among  others,  to  "  the  Irish  people."  Their  lan- 
guage, on  this  occasion,  is  remarkably  fraternal  and 
sympathetic.     Let  me  quote  a  few  sentences  :  — 

"  And  here  "  (they  write)  "  permit  us  to  assure  you 
that  it  was  with  the  utmost  reluctance  we  could 
prevail  upon  ourselves  to  cease  our  commercial  con- 
nection with  your  island.  Your  parliament  had 
done  us  no  wrong ;  you  had  ever  been  friendly  to 
the  rights  of  mankind ;  and  we  acknowledge  with 
pleasure  and  with  gratitude  that  your  nation  has 
produced  patriots  who  have  nobly  distinguished 
themselves  in  the  cause  of  humanity  and  America." 

This  address,  to  be  found  among  the  papers  of 
that  congress,  is  dated  July  28,  1775,  and  signed 
John  B.A'S COCK,  president.  ..   - 

While  the  congress  that  issued  this  address  was 
still  sitting  in  Philadelphia,  the  Parliament  at  Dub- 
lin and  London  were  hardly  less  occupied  with 
American  affairs.  In  Dublin  the  patriots  were  still 
in  a  minority,  though  every  day  added  to  their  ranks. 
In  the  session  of  '75,  Henry  Grattan,  then  in  his 
twenty-ninth  year,  entered  Parliament  for  the  first 
time.  In  that  session  the  question  of  voting  troops 
for  America  came  up,  the  king  having  made  a  requi- 


M 


ml 


M 


\f^ 


124 


CATHOLIC   HISTOUY   OF  AMERICA. 


■  i'l 


sition  for  four  tliousand  men.  This  tlic  patriots 
Avarmly  opposed,  but  for  tlic  time  tlie  Castle  party 
prevailed.  Session  after  session  tliey  renewed  their 
opposition  in  voting  the  supplies,  and  in  '79  they 
had  a  majority.  Lord  Buckinghamshire,  then  vice- 
roy, in  his  official  despatches  to  the  government  at 
London  speaks  of  the  patriots  of  that  day  as  "  the 
American  party,"  as  inspired  by  "  French  and 
American  influences."  In  the  British  House  of 
Lords,  the  Earl  of  Chatham,  in  his  own  forcible  style, 
declared  **  Ireland  to  be  American  ; "  and  in  Burke's 
Bristol  speech,  the  same  notorious  sympathy  of 
sentiment  between  the  countries  is  taken  for 
granted. 

In  the  London  Parliament,  and  throughout  the 
war,  the  illustrious  group  of  whigs  of  Irish  birth 
—  Sheridan,  Barre,  Tierney,  Fitzpatrick,  but  above 
.  all  Edmund  Burke  -r-  gave  a  powerful  moral  sup- 
port to  the  colonial  cause.  Burke's  first  work  was 
on  the  European  settlements  in  America.  He  had 
been  agent  of  the  Province  of  New  York  in  the 
early  stages  of  the  contest ;  he  continued  the  friend 
of  Franklin  and  Laurens,  and  the  enemy  of  Lord 
North's  measures,  till  its  close. 

Consider  the  moral  weight  of  such  speeches  as 
Burke  delivered  from  such  an  eminence  as  the 
great  council  of  the  British  empire.  His  magnifi- 
cent genius  looked  down  upon  the  earth  with  the 
scrutiny  and  the  elevation  of  a  pure  spirit.  Be- 
neath him,  at  his  hand,  lay  Hindostan,  with  all  its 
rivers  and  cities  ;   his  glance  pierced  the  densest 


HISTORICAL  RELATfOXS. 


125 


;3 


jungles  of  Africa  ;  Europe  Avas  all  H  'liar  to  liini, 
and  in  its  wildest  mood  lie  s\\  uni^  it  round  again  into 
the  old  orbit ;  on  America  he  had  long  fixed  those 
studious  eyes  which  searclied  through  all  ages  and 
regions  for  worthy  subjects  on  which  to  employ  his 
powers.  Dignified  as  was  the  attitude  of  the  colo- 
nics, it  became  still  more  so  in  his  description  ;  for 
the  amplification  of  virtue  was  the  favorite  office 
of  his  genius.  Great  as  any  occasion  might  be,  ho 
was  always  greater  ;  he  spread  over  an  immense 
subject  like  the  sun  over  our  earth,  visited  every 
side  of  it  with  impartial  fervor,  leaving  nothing  to 
be  imagined  but  the  source  of  his  inspiration,  and 
nothing  to  be  desired  but  its  perpetual  manifes- 
tation. 

Do  I  need  quotations  to  sustain  this  eulogy? 
There  is  not  a  schoolboy  in  the  land  but  can  give 
you  Burke's  speeches  on  American  taxation  and  con- 
ciliation. The  greatest  orator  that  ever  used  our 
tongue  as  his  weapon,  he  ushered  independent  Amer- 
ica into  history  in  two  orations,  which  nothing  of 
antiquity  excels  and  nothing  since  his  time  has 
equalled. 

The  Irish  brigade  in  the  French  service,  in  '75, 
was  one  of  the  most  famous  military  bands  in  Eu- 
rope. According  to  the  Due  do  Feltre,  four  hun- 
dred thousand  Irish  soldiers  died  in  the  service  of 
France  in  the  last  century  —  a  fact  which  gives 
national  importance  to  that  military  emigration. 
"When  the  Franco-American  alliance  was  first  moot- 
ed, the  entire  brigade  volunteered  for  America  ;  but 

11* 


,ii 


126 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY   OP    AMKRICA. 


France  was  not  yet  resolved  on  war.  A  number  of 
their  officers  were,  however,  sent  out  witli  Admiral 
de  Ternay,  (liinisclf  of  that  race,)  and  Count  do 
Rochambeau,  who  brought  over  six  thoii?and  French 
troops.  I  need  but  refer  to  the  names  of  the  Dil- 
lons, —  who  afterwards  died  so  gallantly  in  defence 
of  Mario  Antoinette,  —  of  Count  Philip  Roche- 
Fermoy,  of  the  imprudent  but  generous  inspector 
general  Thomas  Conway,  of  the  Marquis  McMahon, 
and  other  distinguished  French-Irish  officers  who 
served  in  the  last  campaigns  of  the  revolution,  and 
the  survivors  of  whom  formed  in  one  of  those  two 
files  between  which  Cornwallis  marched  with  empty 
scabbard  out  of  Yorktown. 

Of  the  part  taken  by  the  Irish  in  the  colonies  I 
need  hardly  remind  you.  They  were  at  Bunker's 
Hill  under  Stark  and  Reed  ;  at  Quebec  with  Mont- 
gomery ;  at  Saratoga  with  Gates  ;  at  Flatbush  with 
Sullivan  and  Hand  ;  at  Stony  T'oint  with  Wayne 
and  Moylan  ;  at  Trenton  and  the  Brandywine  with 
Washington  ;  at  Eutaw  Springs  with  Greene ;  at 
Savannah  and  at  Yorktown.  To  use  the  words  of 
the  venerable  George  Washington  Parke  Custis, 
"  They  were  distinguished  in  every  action  of  the 


V 


war. 

At  sea,  the  affair  at  Machias  Bay,  called  by  Mr. 
Fennimore  Cooper  "  the  Lexington  of  the  seas," 
was  fought  under  the  brothers  O'Brien  ;  some  of 
the  crew  and  officers  of  Paul  Jones  were  Irish  ;  the 
leading  part  taken  by  Commodore  Jolm  Barry,  in 
the  organization  of  the  first  navy  of  the  United 


HISTORICAL  RELATI(5i|s^ 


127 


States,  is  now  familiar  to  you  all.  This  Irish  Cath- 
olic won  for  himself  the  proud  title  of  father  of 
the  United  States  navy.  On  the  peace  cstablisli- 
ment,  previous  to  1801,  we  find  Captains  Barry, 
McNeil,  Barron,  Mullowncy,  and  James  Barron  ; 
Lieutenants  Ross,  McElroy,  McRea,  O'Driscoll, 
Byrne,  Somers,  McCutchcn,  and  McClelland  ;  i\rid- 
shipmen  McDonougli,  Roach,  Carroll,  Maj^ralh, 
Fleming,  Hartigan,  Ilennessy,  Dunn,  O'Brien,  Wiii^^li, 
Blakely,  T.  McDonough,  T.  Moore,  C.  Moore,  Ros- 
sitter,  McConnell,  Blake,  Kearney,  and  Casey  —  all 
Irish,  by  birth  or  parentage. 

In  the  civil  service  of  the  republic,  during  the 
revolution,  we  have  Charles  Thompson,  the  Clin- 
tons, Thomas  Fitzsimons,  of  Philadelphia,  the  three 
Carrolls,  the  Lynches,  father  and  son,  and  the 
brothers  Rutledge  —  men  who  took  part  in  every 
civil  labor  during  the  contest,  from  the  first  volun- 
tary associations  till  the  establishment,  in  1789,  of 
the  federal  constitution. 

It  thus  appears  that  all  the  available  Irish  talent 
in  Europe  and  America,  military  and  parliament- 
ary, was  cheerfully  employed  in  the  service  of 
America  during  her  struggle  for  independence.  Lot 
me  repeat  here  what  I  said  of  the  colonial  period, 
that  I  have  not  adduced  these  facts  to  found  on 
them  any  claim  to  national  gratitude  at  the  present 
day.  The  Irish  in  America,  in  this  generation,  want 
no  national  gratitude  ;  we  ask  only  fair  play,  only 
the  truth  of  history,  for  the  honor  of  our  race  and 
the  instruction  of  our  children. 


II, 


m 


m 


128 


CATHOLIC   IIISTOiii'   01'   AMKUICA. 


*» 


Wo  liMVO  conducted  tliis  inquiry  to  the  period  of 
"Washington's  presidency,  171)0.  Another,  genera- 
tion brings  us  to  our  own  times,  to  1820.  In  tlieso 
tliirty  years  tlie  growth  of  America  was  unex- 
ampled ;  the  north-west  began  to  be  peopled  ;  Flor- 
ida and  Louisiana  were  added  to  our  territory  ; 
eight  now  states  were  admitted  ;  and  the  population 
increased  from  three  to  ton  millions.  The  policy 
of  acquisition  and  extension  was  inaugurated  by 
President  .TelTerson  and  liis  party,  to  which  the  ma- 
jority of  the  citizens  of  Irish  origin  always  be- 
longed. They  are  entitled  to  whatever  credit  is 
due  those  who  sustained  that  policy  against  tho 
powerful  opposition  of  the  old  federal  party.  Jef- 
ferson and  Madison  have  cheerfully  given  them  that 
credit  in  their  correspondence  ;  and  the  former,  so 
early  as  1794,  points  out,  in  a  letter  to  the  latter, 
the  Irish  element  as  one  of  the  chief  resources  of 
the  anti-British  and  anti-aristocratic  party.  I  am 
not  going  into  the  merits  of  that  or  any  other 
l)arty  ;  I  say  only  that  the  country  has  thriven  un- 
der democratic  direction,  and  that  the  credit  is  duo 
to  tliosc  who  filled  its  ranks,  and  firmly  sustained 
its  chiefs,  while  their  line  of  policy  was  as  yet  an 
experiment. 

In  two  departments  the  Irish,  fi'om  1790  to  1820, 
I'ondered  America  important  services  —  on  her  pub- 
lic works  and  in  the  war  with  England.  That  war 
■was  declared  by  Congress  on  the  recommendation 
of  a  committee,  four  of  whose  members  were  of  Irish 
parents  or  Irish  birth  ;  and  Calhoun  was  their  chair- 


1 


UISTORICAL  RELATIONri. 


129 


a 


man.  Of  the  familiar  events  of  the  war  it  is  not 
necessary  to  say  much  :  you  all  know  of  what  stock 
Crogan,  and  Brady,  and  McComb,  and  Riley,  suid 
McDonough,  so  distinguished  in  the  north-west, 
were  :  you  all  know  Jackson,  and  Carroll,  and 
Coft'ee,  and  Butler,  of  the  decisive  battle  of  Nt'W 
Orleans.  I  do  not  dwell  on  these  familiar  names, 
but  merely  ask  you  to  add  them  to  the  account 
which  I  have  undertaken  to  lay  before  you. 

Let  me  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  in  this 
war  adopted  citizens  born  in  the  British  domin- 
ions fought  at  an  immense  disadvantage ;  since  by 
the  prince  regent's  proclamation  of  October,  1812, 
all  such  persons  were  warned  that,  if  taken  prison- 
ers, they  would  be  treated  as  "  rebels."  President 
Madison  and  the  officers  of  the  American  army 
could  only  apply  in  their  favor  the  law  of  retalia- 
tion, which,  in  the  well-known  case  of  General  Scott 
and  the  Irish  prisoners  in  Canada,  was  found  to  be 
efficacious.  Whoever  will  look  carefully  through 
the  annals  of  the  second  English  war  will  find  that 
the  threats  of  the  prince  regent  did  not  deter  the 
Irish  part  of  the  citizen  soldiery  from  doing  their 
duty  by  their  adopted  country.  The  war  of  1812 
was,  in  fact,  the  adopted  citizens'  war  ;  a  war  in  de- 
fence of  the  rights  of  the  naturalized,  on  sea  or  on 
shore  ;  a  war  against  New  England's  prejudices  as 
well  as  Old  England's  power  ;  and  a  war  large)y 
indebted  to  captains  and  men  of  Irish  descent  for 
its  glorious  termination.  Even  if  it  is  a  sore  spot,  I 
cannot  overlook  the  conduct  of  the  most  Anglican 


!?'i 


V    -t,- 


130 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OF  AMERICA. 


i 


part  of  the  United  States  —  Connecticut,  Rhode 
Island,  and  Massachusetts — in  that  contest.  Their 
famous  "  Hartford  convention  "  has  not  yet  entirely 
faded  from  the  public  meniory.  They  formed  a 
"  peace  party,"  helpful  only  to  the  enemy ;  they 
rang  their  Boston  bells  for  British  victories,  and 
tolled  them  for  their  own ;  they  denied  that  the 
president  could  delegate  his  power  over  the  local 
militia  to  officers  commissioned  by  him  ;  they  gave 
every  obstruction  to  their  own  forces,  and  every  aid 
to  the  enemy  short  of  overt  acts  of  treason.  The 
war  of  1812  was  fought,  against  all  the  Anglican 
influences  on  this  soil,  by  the  true  Americans,  native 
and  naturalized  ;  none  of  its  laurels,  none  of.  its 
solid  results,  belong  to  the  Anglican  faction  which 
has  always  existed  here,  and  chiefly  in  New  Eng- 
land. 

The  public  works  of  the  United  States  have  been 
done  on  so  gigantic  a  scale,  and  in  so  short  a  space 
of  time,  that  they  deserve  to  be  classed  as  historical 
events.  In  1790  the  western  boundary  of  the  Mid- 
dle States  was  still  the  Blue  Ridge.  The  Cumber- 
land Road,  the  Erie,  and  the  Chesapeake  and  Dela- 
ware Canals,  were  as  yet  unattempted.  These  great 
works  were  mainly  done  by  Irish  hands  ;  and  it  is 
now  known  that  the  Erie  Canal  was  designed  and 
surveyed  by  Christopher  Colles,  of  Dublin,  long  be- 
fore it  was  adopted, by  De  Witt  Clinton  as  the 
project  of  his  life.  The  Middlesex  Canal  in  Massa- 
chusetts owed  as  much  to  Governor  Sullivan  as  the 
Erie  Canal  did  to  Governor  Clinton  ;  and  the  first 


^ 


HISTORICAL  RELATIONS. 


131 


1 


railroad  New  England  had  was  mainly  tlio  work  of 
Patrick  Traccy  Jackson,  of  Boston,  a  venerable 
citizen  of  Irish  descent,  whom  I  myself  remember 
to  have  seen. 

I  claim  the  merit  of  the  head  work  as  well  as  tho 
handwork  in  these  undertakings.  The  first  claim 
may  be  ungratefully  forgotten,  but  it  can  never  be 
disproved.  The  second  claim  will  not  be  ques- 
tioned. I  claim  that  the  first  highways  which 
crossed  the  Blue  Ridge  and  the  Alleghanies  were 
the  work  of  the  Irish  Hercules  -i-  the  true  pine 
bender  and  path  preparer  of  the  new  world. 

Ireland  alone,  from  1790  to  1820,  could  have  sup- 
plied the  necessary  labor  force  for  opening  up  the 
continent.  If  the  native  population  had  increased 
thirty  per  cent,  in  that  generation,  —  in  other  words, 
if  each  family  averaged  three  children,  —  the  whole 
native  population  in  1820  would  be  short  of  six 
millions,  instead  of  nearing  ten  /  What  proportion 
of  the  other  four  millions  Ireland  contributed,  after 
'98  and  "  the  union,"  I  cannot  ascertain,  for  neither 
in  British  nor  American  ports  were  the  statistics 
of  emigration  recorded  before  1819.  That  Ireland 
did  supply  the  hands  which  led  Lake  Erie  down- 
ward to  the  sea,  and  wedded  the  stormy  Chesa- 
peake to  the  gentle  Delaware,  and  carried  the  roads 
of  the  east  out  to  the  farthest  outpost  of  the  west, 
we  know  from  every  repOrt  on  our  public  works.  I 
have  said  that  Ireland  alone  could  and  did  supply  that 
indispensable  element  of  labor.  The  native  popu- 
lation of  six  millions  would  still  haf  e  lived  within 


11  i 


)     '! 


il 


132 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY   OF   AMERICA. 


their  old  limits,  rather  than  take  pick  and  spade, 
lodge  in  shanties,  and  obey  a  boss.  Foreign  labor 
was  needed  ;  and  that  labor  must  be  disorganized  at 
home,  that  it  might  be  more  readily  reorganized 
here.  It  should  be  cheap,  mobile,  and  hardy  ;  it 
should  be  sufficiently  apt  to  pick  up  new  habits  of 
work,  and  to  apprehend  quickly  verbal  directions  ; 
it  should  know  enough  of  English  to  comprehend 
its  captains.  In  the  Irish  emigration  alone  these 
several  dispositions  were  combined.  It  has  been 
the  lot  of  the  Irish  laborer  to  make  roads  for  Ger- 
mans to  travel  on  ;  to  fill  the  purse  in  the  native's 
pocket ;  to  advance  every  body's  fortune  farther 
than  his  own.  •       .     r 

Do  I  complain  of  this  ?  Am  I  ashamed  of  it  ? 
God  forbid.  Honest  hand  labor  is  the  most  hon- 
orable employment  of  man.  Every  other  profes- 
sion owes  something  to  its  pretensions,  something 
to  sleight,  or  show,  or  the  credulity  of  its  clients. 
Of  the  lawyer,  the  doctor,  the  editor,  the  mechanic 
even,  this  is  true ;  but  the  honest  workman,  who 
puts  his  conscience  into  his  work,  and  can  point  to 
the  result  and  say,  "  There  is  my  contract ;  examine 
it ;  see  if  I  have  not  done  every  thing  I  under- 
took,"—  he  can  make  a  prouder  boast,  and  take  a 
higher  moral  stand,  than  almost  any  member  of  a 
learned  profession.  If  the  labor  emigration  is  a 
fact  true  of  Ireland  and  America  for  two  hundred 
years,  it  is  not  peculiar  to  American  history  nor  to 
the  Irish  race  ;  and  though  it  has  its  sad  side,  it  has 
also  its  halo* of  glory.    You  who  make  the  term 


HISTORICAL  RELATIONS. 


133 


foreigner  a  reproach  to  us,  —  who  are  you  ?  Chil- 
dren or  grandchildren  of  foreigners.  And  we,  — 
who  are  we  ?  The  parentage  of  native  generations, 
destined  to  rule  this  continent  in  conjunction  with 
your  children's  children.  In  one  sense  we  are  all 
foreigners  to  America ;  European  civilization  is 
foreign  to  it ;  white  complexions  are  foreign  to  it ; 
the  Christian  religion  is  foreign  to  it.  The  term 
conveys  no  stigma  to  the  well-informed  mind.  The 
man  of  reading  and  reflection  knows  that  at  one 
time  or  other  it  was  true  of  all  humanity  —  true  of 
the  first  man,  as  it  may  be  of  the  last.  The  history 
of  our  race  is  a  history  of  emigration.  In  Asia 
Eden  was ;  but  beyond  Eden  the  world  lay.  The 
first  emigrants  were  that  sad  pair  who  travelled 
into  the  outer  darkness,  lighted  by  the  glare  of  the 
fiery  sword  threatening  at  their  backs.  When 
their  ears  no  longer  caught  the  rustling  of  the  trees 
of  paradise,  or  the  flow  of  its  living  waters,  they 
felt  themselves  truly  emigrants  :  — 


I' 


'*  Some  natural  tears  they  shed,  but  dried  them  soon ; 
The  world  was  all  before  them,  where  to  choose 
A  place  of  rest,  and  Providence  their  guide." 


Upon  what  consolation  did  our  first  parents  rest  ? 
Upon  labor  and  upon  hope,  "  Go  forth  and  fill 
the  earth  and  subdue  it,"  and  the  promised  Mes- 
siah. Since  then,  the  story  of  their  posterity  has 
been  the  same.  Westward  with  the  sun  they  trav- 
elled from  the  first,  keeping  on  earth  an  apparent 
parallel  to  his  apparent  course.    The  cities  of  Enoch, 


I 

m 


12 


',    i 


■!      ! 


134 


CATHOLIC  HISTORY  OP  AMERICA. 


\- 


!i 


■Jil 


Babylon,  Nineveh,  Tyre,  Thebes,  Carthage,  Rome, — 
what  are  they  ?  Landmarks  and  tidemarks  of  the 
endless  emigration.  In  the  days  before  history,  in 
the  mountain  mists  of  tradition,  we  see  the  dim 
forms  of  pioneers  and  leaders,  carrying  their  tribes 
from  old  homes  to  new  homes,  over  mountains  and 
across  straits,  and  through  the  labyrinth  of  the 
primeval  wilderness.  All  mythology  is  a  story 
about  emigrants  ;  and  the  tale  did  not  end  when 
Hercules  set  up  his  pillars  at  the  Strait  of  Gades, 
and  forbade  his  descendants  to  tempt  the  exterior 
ocean.  In  the  dawn  of  classic  light  we  see  man- 
'  kind  with  darkened  and  troubled  brows,  gazing  out 
to  the  forbidden  west  as  they  lean  against  those 
pillars.  The  fearless  Phoenician  came,  and  swept 
by  without  slacking  sail  or  heeding  Hercules  ;  he 
went,  and  came,  and  went,  disenchanting  mankind 
of  their  fears.  The  Romans  talked  of  having 
reached  the  earth's  ultima :  and  so  Europe  rested 
for  ages,  in  full  belief  of  the  Roman  geography. 
At  last  Columbus  rose,  that  inspired  sailor,  who, 
dedicating  his  ship  and  himself  to  the  protection 
of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  launched  fearlessly  into  the 
undiscovered  sea,  and  introduced  the  n«w  world  to 
the  acquaintance  of  the  old.  After  Columbus  we 
came,  borne  onward  by  the  destiny  of  humanity,  in 
obedience  to  the  primitive  charter  of  our  race  — 
"  Go  forth  and  fill  the  earth  and  subdue  it ;  and  in 
the  sweat  of  your  brow  you  shall  earn  your  bread." 
The  Irish  emigrant  stands  on  this  high  ground  j 
and,  so  standing,  he  can  look  the  past  fearlesslyin 


^t^r 


IIISTOIIICAL  RELATIONS. 


135 


the  face.  He  has  no  cause  to  be  ashamed  of  his 
predecessors  liere.  If  they  founded  no  exclusive 
J^ew  Ireland^  the  blood  of  no  exterminated  Indian 
tribe  rises  in  judgment  against  them  ;  if  they  were 
sole  proprietors  of  no  province,  neither  have  they 
to  answer  for  enslaving  the  African.  They  were 
here,  subordinates  in  power,  but  principals  in  labor. 
They  could  say,  and  we  may  say  for  them,  that  in  no 
department  of  American  development  have  the  Irish 
mind  and  the  Irish  arm  been  unfelt.  We  have 
given  the  Union,  in  this  century,  its  greatest  specu- 
lative and  its  greatest  practical  statesman — John  C. 
Calhoun  and  Andrew  Jackson  ;  we  have  given  the 
Union  two  vice  presidents,  nine  signers  of  the  Dec- 
laration of  Independence, .  six  authors  of  the  Con- 
stitution, ten  major  generals  to  its  army,  and  six 
commodores  to  its  navy.  In  science,  in  authorship, 
in  oratory  we  have  been  represented,  as  well  as  in 
digging,  and  delving,  and  carrying  the  hod.  We 
can  look  History  in  the  face  ;  and,  putting  our  hands 
upon  any  part  of  the  fabric  of  the  state,  we  can  say, 
as  a  people,  This  was  jtartly  our  work. 

Such,  as  I  read  the  record,  are  the  historical 
relations  of  Ireland  and  America.  With  God  for 
our  guide,  and  our  own  labor  for  our  dependence,  we 
may  defy  the  designs  of  faction,  and  look  as  fear- 
lessly to  the  future  as  proudly  to  the  past. 


I 


1^. 


., 


II. -ACTUAL  RELATIONS. 

On  the  last  evening  I  had  the  honor  to  stand  in 
this  place,  I  showed,  I  believe  conclusively,  that  the 
Irish  emigration  was  no  new  fact  in  American  lils- 
tory  ;  that  it  was  as  old  as  the  planting  of  white 
population  in  this  country  ;  that  on  the  historic 
account  between  Ireland  and  America,  down  to  the 
year  1820,  there  was  an  apparent  balance  —  and  I 
believe  a  real  one  —  due  from  this  new  nation  to 
that  ancient  island.  At  the  same  time  I  disclaimed 
altogether  the  intention  of  raising  a  claim  to  na- 
tional gratitude  on  that  historic  basis.  I  strove 
to  bring  out  the  facts  partly  as  a  set-off  to  present 
injustice,  but  mainly  as  a  lesson,  important  for  your 
native-born  children  and  mine  to  learn.  . 

I  propose  to-night,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  with 
your  indulgence,  to  consider  the  actual  relations 
subsisting  in  our  generation  between  the  land  of 
our  birth  (of  mine  at  least)  and  this  new  land  of 
our  adoption.  I  fear  you  may  find  the  subject  a 
dry  one  ;  but  I  trust  to  the  natural  interest  we  all 
feel  in  our  own  times  and  fortunes  to  enable  me  to 
carry  you  through  to  the  end  of  the  argument. 

I  find  these  actual  relations  open  to  four  divisions. 

(136) 


ACTUAL   RELATIONS. 


137 


^,. 


1.  That  whicli  rcixards  the  bare  statistics  of  popu- 
lation. 2.  Tliat  which  concerns  American  com- 
merce and  development.  3.  The  political ;  and,  4. 
The  religious  relations  of  America  and  Ireland. 

We  have  each  Irish  and  American  decennial 
census  sinc'e  1820,  and  the  recent  British  and  Amer- 
ican Emigrant  Commissioners'  reports,  to  help  us  in 
our  inquiry  into  the  movement  of  population  be- 
tween the  countries.  In  1821  Ireland  contained 
six  million  six  hundred  eighty-seven  thousand  three 
hundred  and  six  souls.  In  1841  eight  million  one 
hundred  seventy-five  thousand  one  hundred  and 
fifty-four  souls,  or  a  home  increase  of  less  than 
twenty-five  per  cent.  ;  that  is  to  say,  less  than  an 
average  of  five  children  to  two  families.  In  1851 
the  same  country  had  fallen  back  to  six  million 
five  hundred  fifty-one  thousand  nine  hundred  and 
seventy  souls,  or  less  than  it  contained  thirty  years 
before.  The  increase  of  one  entire  generation  was 
thus  lost  to  that  afflicted  land.  What  might  that 
increase  be  ?  If  it  were  in  the  ratio  of  the  increase 
in  the  thirty  years  before  1820,  —  which  included  a 
sanguinary  civil  war  and  two  years  of  famine, — it 
ought  to  have  been  at  least  thirty-three  per  cent., 
giving  in  1850  a  total  of  ten  million  instead  of  six 
and  a  half ! 

Here  are,  between  the  years  1820  and  '50,  three 
million  and  a  half  of  the  Irish  people  to  be  ac- 
counted for.  If  we  allow  the  cholera  of  1832  and 
the  famine  of  1847  to  have  swept  away  a  million 
by  death,  (and  a  million  is  a  large  allowance,)  there 
■      .12* 


138 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OP  AMERICA. 


still  remain  two  million  five  hundred  thousand 
souls  to  be  accounted  for,  most  of  whom  are  be- 
lieved to  be  at  present  living  in  America. 

In  the  decade  from  1820  to  1830,  the  British  gov- 
ernment was  active  in  depleting  the  Irish  popula- 
tion. They  gave  every  encouragement,  including  a 
pecuniary  bonus,  to  emigrants  for  their  own  colonies 
—  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  Sydney,  and  Canada.  In 
those  ten  years  tlie  whole  governmental  emigration 
from  what  is  perversely  called  "  the  United  King- 
dom" was  one  hundred  fifty-four  thousand  two  hun-? 
dred  and  ninety-one  souls;  in  the  next  decennial  peri- 
od, down  to  1840,  it  was  two  hundred  seventy-seven 
thousand  six  hundred  and  ninety-six  souls  ;  and  in 
the  last  the  increase,  including  Australia,  was  du- 
plicate. Taking  these  figures  together,  we  have 
two  thirds  of  a  million  of  emigrants  who,  under 
the  auspices  of  the  British  government,  left  British 
ports  between  the  years  1830  and  1850  to  settle  in." 
British  dependencies.  If  of  this  total  one  half 
were  Irish,  we  would  still  have  two  million  two 
hundred  thousand  of  their  countrymen  to  locate 
somewhere  on  the  globe  ;  and  this  number  is  not,  I 
imagine,  very  far  from  the  direct  contribution  of 
Ireland  to  the  American  population  within  the  pres- 
ent generation.* 


*  In  their  report  for  1854,  the  British  commissioners  of  emigration 
state  that  tlie  total  number  who  have  emigrated  in  the  thirty-nine 
years  between  1815  and  1853,  inclusive,  has  been  three  million  seven  hun- 
dred ninety-three  thousand  five  hundred  and  twenty-nine ;  but  that  of 
these  two  million  one  hundred  twenty-one  tliousand  three  hundred  and 


V-\ 


ACTUAL  RELATIONS. 


139 


i 


Speaking'  of  population,  wc  should  distinguish  tho 
kind  as  well  as  the  quantity.  On  inquiry  from  per- 
sons long  "  gaged  in  the  passenger  trade,  I  have 
been  invariably  told  that  four  fifths  of  all  those 
emigrating  from  Ireland  arc  adults.  This  modifies 
essentially  all  after  calculations  in  relation  to  that 
class.  In  our  native  population,  the  proportion  of 
adults  to  minors  is,  from  the  short  average  of  human 
life,  not  more  than  one  third.  Ilencc,  so  far  as 
adult  labor  and  service  are  involved,  two  million 
and  a  half  of  emigrants  yield  as  many  hands  as  six 
million  of  tho  native  population.  This  is  an  im- 
portant consideration,  and  I  will  ask  you  to  bear  it 
in  mind  hereafter. 

This  is  a  people  already  reared,. each  individual 
of  which,  if  born  here,  would  have  consumed  a 
thousand  dollars'  worth  of  food,  clothing,  and  other 
necessaries  before  he  or  she  could  have  become  a 
maker  of  money.  The  first  cost  of  a  million  of 
people  to  this  state  of  society  must  be  fully  a  thou- 
sand million  of  dollars  between  infancy  and  adult 
age  ;  and  to  that  amount,  and  far  more  than  that, 
our  adult  emigration  has  enriched  the  United  States. 
For  the  five  years  ending  in  '53,  there  are  registered 
of  Irish  emigrants  to  this  country  alone  above  a 
million,  of  whom,  according  to  my  informants  in 


t: 


i 


11 


m\ 


seyenty-threc,  or  more  than  eleven  twentieths,  have  emigrated  during 
the  seven  years  ending  on  the  31st  of  December,  18o3.  Now,  of  this  total, 
at  least  two  thirds,  over  two  niillion  five  hundred  thousand,  were  Irish, 
of  whom  the  greater  part  came  to  the  United  States  —  a  strong  proof 
of  the  coirectness  of  the  calculation  in  the  text. 


HO 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY   OF  AMERICA. 


the  ])asscnger  trade,  four  rirfliF",  or  eight  hundred 
thousand,  were  adult?.  We  have  been  accustomed 
to  a  complaint  from  certain  quarters  that  this  is  a 
pauper  emigration — that  this  country  is  overrun 
with  foreign  paupers.  What  are  the  facts?  The 
comniMtation  tax,  which  must  be  paid  on  every  for- 
eigner, adult  or  infant,  is  two  dollars  per  head  for 
young  and  old,  and  amounted  last  year  to  upwards 
of  seven  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars  on  emi- 
grants from  British  ports  alone,  and  must  have  been 
as  much  more  on  the  German  emigration.  Now, 
the  total  number  of  persons  born  abroad,  —  of  all 
nationalities,  —  who  received  alms  in  any  or  all  our 
states  during  last  year,  was  sixty-eight  thousand, 
being  less  than  .ten  per  cent,  of  the  whole  number 
arrived  ;  thus  giving  for  the  expense  of  each  —  the 
commutation  tax  being  so  set  apart  according  ,to 
law  —  not  less  than  twenty-two  dollars  a  head  —  an 
amount,  it  is  needless  to  say,  far  more  than  suf- 
ficient to  save  the  native  public  from  any  poor  tax 
specially  levied  on  account  of  emigrants.* 
Another  distinction  to  be  considered  is,  that  gen- 


*  I  deny,  however,  that  the  sixty-eight  thousand  "  foreigners  "  en- 
tered as  receiving  relief  in  our  poorhouses,  in  1853,  can  all  be  properly 
called  emigrants.  A  large  proportion  of  them  have  spent  years  here, 
been  naturalized,  been  worked  out  in  the  service  of  the  commonwealth. 
On  this  and  similar  topics  there  is  a  very  free  and  easy  alternation  of 
terms  in  vogue.  The  bravo  soldier  is  an  American  ;  the  same  soldier, 
if  he  deserts,  is  "  a  foreigner  ; "  the  gallant  fireman  or  seaman  is  a 
fellow-citizen ;  but  his  brother,  if  detected  in  any  thing  disgraceful, 
becomes  suddenly  "  a  foreigner."  Against  this  unfair  substitution  of 
terms  common  honesty  cries  out. 


-^•Ml 


ACTUAL   IIFJ-ATIONS. 


141 


erally  the  European  cmigranls  who  come  licrc  are  ro- 
bust, inured  to  j)hysical  hibor,  and  contented  to  keep 
at  it.  There  arc  very  few  of  them  alllicted  with  dys- 
pepsia, or  debility,  or  inipotcncy.  They  arc  not 
given  to  shout  for  a  doctor  if  their  little  fingers 
ache,  nor  to  shrink  from  frost  or  fire,  mud  or  mad- 
der. Whether  they  settle  on  new  lands  or  encamp 
upon  public  works,  they  must  pay  their  way  from  the 
beginning.  There  is  no  bankruptcy  among  them  ; 
the  emigrant  cannot  fail  while  his  health  holds 
good  ;  he  expends  as  he  earns  ;  his  cash  is  the  brisk- 
est in  circulation  —  for  it  no  sooner  passes  into  his 
possession  than  it  is  partitioned  among  all  who  live 
by  trading  in  the  necessaries  of  life. 

In  the  period  of  which  we  have  been  speaking, 
while  Ireland  lost  one  third  of  all  her  people,  this 
country  had  advanced  from  less  than  ten  million 
to  more  than  twenty-three  !  Supposing  the  native 
family  to  average  three  children,  the  natural  in- 
crease would  have  reached  but  to  fifteen,  leaving 
eight  million  to  be  otherwise  accounted  for.  The 
census  of  1850  furnishes  no  solution  of  this  prob- 
lem ;  but  the  census  of  1850  is  no  authority.  It 
would  have  the  world  believe  that  there  are  now 
but  two  million  of  men  of  foreign  birth  in  this  re- 
public ;  w^hereas  the  statistics  of  emigration  show 
that  for  the  last  ten  years  alone  more  than  that 
number  of  Irish  people  landed  on  these  shores. 
Were  there  no  foreigners  here  before  1 840  ?  Are 
there  no  French,  no  Italians  ?  Are  not  the  Germans 
and  Scandinavians,  taken  together,  more  numerous 


it ' 


•  ( 


U2 


CATIIOJ.IC   IIISTOUY   OF   AMEUICA. 


still  than  the  Irish?  Ami  yet  this  census  Avould 
have  the  world  believe  tliere  are  but  two  million  of 
foreigners  altogether  in  the  U'niieLl  States  1  If  it 
had  set  them  down  at  six  million  of  all  nationali- 
ties, it  would  have  been  nearer  the  mark. 

As  to  the  effects  of  emigration  on  American  com- 
merce and  internal  develoi)mcnt,  there  is  no  need 
for  argument,  though  there  is  ample  material  for 
illustration.  No  one  denies  that  to  the  influx  of 
cheap  labor,  during  the  last  thirty  years,  the  United 
States  owe  their  four  thousand  miles  of  canal  and 
fourteen  thousand  miles  of  railroad.  No  one  de- 
nies that  the  states  which  encouraged  emigration, 
and  pushed  forward  public  worlcs,  arc  the  states 
which  now  feed  and  clothe  the  country.  Ohio,  In- 
diana, and  Illinois,  thirty  years  ago,  were  second 
or  third-class  states  ;  now  they  stand  next  after 
New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  before  Massachusetts 
and  Maryland,  and  beside  old  Virginia.  The  value 
of  foreign  labor  to  the  north-west,  the  last  thirty 
years,  defies  computation.  Last  year  it  was  shown 
by  Chicago  papers  that  the  eaij-loyment  of  ten  thou- 
sand men  for  one  year,  on  the  Illinois  Central  Rail- 
road, had  enhanced  the  value  of  the  public  lands  in 
that  state  seventeen  million  dollars  —  a  fact  from 
which  the  curious  may  calculate  of  how  much  value 
a  million  of  men,  laboring  for  thirty  years  for  the 
state  and  themselves,  may  have  been.  "  This,"  said 
Benjamin  Franklin  nearly  a  century  since,  "  is  a 
country  of  labor  : "  "  and  such,"  said  Matthew  Cary 
forty  years  ago,  "  it  remains  till  this  day."    Another 


•11 


ACTUAL   llELATIONH. 


143 


high  authority  in  political  economy,  A(hnu  Smith, 
defines  "the  annual  labor  of  every  nation"  to  bo 
"the  fund  whicli  originally  supplies  it  witli  all  tlio 
conveniences  and  necessaries  of  life."  If  we  apply 
these  maxims  to  our  sul)jcct,  they  will  help  us  to 
Borao  sound  conclusions.  This  whole  continent 
may,  in  fact,  be  considered  as  the  raw  material 
out  of  which  the  nation  itself  was,  a  few  years  ago, 
to  bo  manufactured  ;  the  factors  were  both  natives 
and  emigrants  ;  and  as  roads,  bridges,  canals,  and 
crops  must  precede  the  full  triumph  of  civilization 
over  barrenness,  so  here,  as  every  where  else  since 
the  world  began,  the  foreigner  has  been  the  civilizer. 
Compare  the  present  value  to  society  and  the  world 
of  an  acre  of  Ohio  wheat  land  with  the  utter  usc- 
lessness  of  that  same  acre  when  the  Miami  Indian 
had  his  wigwam  there,  and  you  will  see  how  real 
and  how  general  a  benefactor  to  his  race  the  foreign 
laborer  has  been.  In  that  delightful  harmony  of 
interests  which,  however  often  deranged  by  human 
perversity,  does  still  pervade  the  world,  the  culti- 
vation of  a  new  territory  on  any  side  of  the  earth 
affects  every  inhabited  region.  The  shower  that 
falls  on  the  Alleghanies  gladdens  the  hearts  of  men 
beside  the  Clyde ;  and  the  farmer  in  Indiana  be- 
comes the  feeder  of  the  mechanic  in  Manchester.  . 
I  am  not  able  to  say  what  proportion  of  the  pur- 
chasers of  our  public  lands,  during  the  last  few 
years,  were  men  of  foreign  birth  ;  but  I  will,  for 
argument's  sake,  suppose  it  to  be  one  fourth.  From 
1833  to  1850  there  were  some  seventy-seven  million 


Jt; 

'i  t  I? 


'"    V  ''I 


% 


f,  M 


I 


I 


144 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY   OF  AMERICA. 


acres  sold  for  about  one  hundred  million  dol- 
lars. If  foreigners  bought  a  fourth  part,  they  had 
in  sixteen  years  paid  into  the  United  States  treas- 
ury twenty-five  million  dollars,  or  above  a  mil- 
lion and  a  half  a  year.  They  had  become  proprie- 
tors of  some  twenty  million  acres  of  land,  upon 
which  they  had  paid  into  the  several  skites  the  taxes 
imposed  by  each ;  which,  in  the  aggregate,  must 
amount  to  some  millions  per  annum.  They  have 
given  freights  to  the  lake  and  ocean  shipping  to  an 
incalculable  amount,  especially  since  the  repeal  of 
the  British  corn  laws  ;  they  have  kept  afloat  a 
larger  tonnage  on  the  lakes  than  the  whole  of  the 
foreign  trade  yet  employs. 

Manufacturing  had  profited  no  less  than  agricul- 
ture by  emigration.  All  along  the  Merrimac  and 
Connecticut  you  may  hear  the  Irish  accent  ;  in  the 
bowels  of  the  earth,  through  Pennsylvania,  Illinois* 
and  Michigan,  you  meet  it  every  where.  We  have 
the  statistics  of  our  manufactures  for  1850,  and  we 
find  from  them  that  the  capital  employed  was  rated 
at  five  hundred  and  thirty  million  dollars  ;  that  the 
raw  material  used  was  valued  at  five  hundred  and 
fifty  million  ;  and  the  annual  product  at  ten  hundred 
and  twenty  million.  The  number  of  hands  employed 
exceeded  a  million,  and  their  aggregate  wages  were 
two  hundred  and  forty  million  dollars.  Let  me 
suppose  again,  for  the  sake  of  argument,  that  even 
one  fourth  of  these  hands  were  foreign  born  ;  they 
then  contributed  a  fourth  to  the  annual  production, 
or  above   two  hundred   and  fifty  million  dollars 


ACTUAL   RELATIONS. 


145 


per  annum  ;  at  the  same  time  they  earn  and  expend 
a  fourth  of  the  aggregate  wages,  or  sixty  million  ; 
thus  contributing  to  the  commonwealth,  in  this  one 
department  of  labor,  not  less  than  three  hundred 
million  per  annum. 

It  appears  that  no  American  interest  gains  so 
directly  by  emigration  as  the  ocean  shipping.  I 
assert  that  the  passenger  trade,  more  than  any  other, 
has  built  up  the  merchant  marine  of  New  York. 
To  this  trade  your  Marshalls,  Minturns,  Grinnells, 
Collinses,  and  Thompsons  owe  their  fleets  of  packet 
ships.  Let  us  suppose  the  passenger  trade  had  not 
existed.  I  ask  any  man,  who  has  any  knowledge 
of  the  subject,  if  he  believes  even  one  of  our  great 
Liverpool  lines  would  have  paid.  If,  like  the  ships 
which  carry  British  subjects  out  to  Australia,  our 
ships  had  to  return  in  ballast,  or  with  quarter  freight, 
after  discharging  their  cotton  or  flour,  would  it  pay  ? 
I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  it  can  be  proved  that 
our  merchant  marine  has  doubled  its  tonnage  since 
1836,  mainly  because  it  was  always  certain  of  a 
speedy  home  freight  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic. 

Take  the  average  number  of  passengers  brought 
out  by  a  packet  ship  to  be  four  hundred  and  fifty. 
The  prices  have  ranged,  the  last  few  seasons,  from 
fifteen  to  twenty-five  dollars  per  head.  Such  a  ship 
will  make  three  trips  per  year  ;  and  deducting,  say 
ten  per  cent.,  the  entire  passage  money  goes  to  the 
owners.  On  this  calculation,  such  a  ship  will  av- 
erage for  her  owners  in  twelve  months,  on  passen- 
gers alone,  twenty  thousand  dollars  —  more  than 


] 


111 


V.    I'M 

tii;-  -■ 


■!'";li 


■I'f 


146 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OF   AMERICA. 


I 


I 

i. 

1 


the  interest  on  her  first  cost  and  her  whole  running 
expenses  combined.  We  sometimes  hear  our  friends 
in  the  shipping  business  grumbling,  and  declaring 
that  the  passenger  business  "  don't  pay."  In  future, 
to 'quote  a  sea  proverb,  "they  may  tell  that  to  the 
marines."  If,  to-day,  the  United  States  is  the  sec- 
ond commercial  power  in  the  world,  it  is  certain 
she  owes  that  position  as  much  to  the  immense  emi- 
gration of  Irish,  all  embarked  in  her  shipping,  as 
to  any  other  single  cause. 

Let  me  reverse  the  picture,  and  inquire  if  Ireland 
has  benefited  commercially  as  well  as  America. 
Alas  I  no.  These  fleets  that  crowd  the  Atlantic 
pass  by  the  Irish  coast  as  if  it  were  infected.  They 
enter  no  Irish  harbor  except  when  beaten  in  by 
angry  storms.  They  compel  the  Irish  peasantry  to 
meet  them  on  British  soil,  to  transship  themselves  at 
the  Mersey.  Ireland  has  not  had  the  consolation, 
in  parting  with  her  children,  of  placing  them  with 
her  own  hands  under  their  new  flag.  Some  years 
ago,  in  this  city,  you  may  remember  the  abortive 
efl'orts  made  to  establish  a  line  of  steamships  be- 
tween New  York  and  Gal  way  ;  you  may  remem- 
ber the  tricks  played  on  us  by  Wagstaff  and  Ear- 
num,  and  the  fate  of  the  Viceroy,  cast  away  on 
the  coast  of  Nova  Scotia.  Explain  it  as  we  may, 
by  British  intrigue,  force  of  habit,  or  shortness  of 
sight,  America  has  left  Ireland  as  a  country  out  of 
her  commercial  charts,  while  Ireland  has  been 
almost  exhausted  to  increase  production  in  America. 
Do  not  suppose  that  I  complain  of  this.    I  do  not. 


i 


ACTUAL   RELATIONS. 


147 


I 


l)lame  only  the  Irish  in  Ireland  and  the  Irish  in 
America,  who  have  not  had  practical  patriotism 
enough  to  establish  direct  intercourse  between  them- 
selves since  their  separation.  -. 

Though  the  drafts  of  America  on  Irish  popula- 
tion have  not  served  Ireland  commercially,  but  the 
contrary,  I  am  sure  such  was  never  the  design  of 
any  party  in  this  republic.  The  political  sympathy 
of  this  people  has  always  been  with  the  land  of 
Burke  and  O'Connell,  and,  notwithstanding  recent 
signs  of  national  change,  I  do  believe  is  with  her 
still.  In  the  emancipation  struggle  ending  in  1829, 
in  the  repeal  agitation  of  1843,  in  the  projected  in- 
surrection of  1848,  the  heart  of  America  was  on  the 
side  of  Ireland.  One  proof  of  this,  open  to  no  ex- 
ception, was  given  during  the  famine  of  1846-7, 
when  the  Jamestown  and  Macedonian,  freighted 
with  charity  and  manned  by  mercy,  carried  the 
starry  flag  into  the  darkness  and  desolation  of  the 
Irish  night.  That  event  never  shall  be  forgotten 
by  the  Irish  heart. 

Besides  the  national  sympathy  which  great  occa- 
sions only  can  call  out,  there  has  been  another  bond 
of  brotherhood — the  constant  family  care  of  the 
emigrants  themselves  for  those  thev  left  behind. 
As  men  escaping  to  a  rock  throw  ropes  to  those 
still  on  a  wreck,  so,  sioce  the  famine  especially,  the 
Irish  here  have  worked,  not  for  themselves  alone, 
but  for  their  kindred  left  behind.  We  have  the  re- 
cent returns  of  the  British  Parliamentary  Commis- 
sioners for  the  monetary  remittances  of  this  class, 


\ 


! 


148 


CATHOLIC  HISTORY  OP  AMERICA. 


which,  in  '48,  were  four  hundred  and  sixty  thou- 
sand pounds  ;  in  '49,  five  hundred  and  forty  thousand 
pounds ;  in  '50,  nine  hundred  and  fifty-seven  thou- 
sand pounds  ;  in  '51,  nine  hundred  and  ninety  thou- 
sand pounds  ;  in  '52,  one  million  four  hundred  and 
four  thousand  pounds  ;  and  in  '53,  one  million  four 
hundred  and  thirty-nine  thousand  pounds  ;  or  in  all, 
during  the  five  years  previous  to  the  present,  a  total 
of  more  than  twenty-eight  million  dollars.  And  this 
only  includes  the  money  orders  payable  in  Ireland 
or  England  ;  it  does  not  include  the  price  of  passages 
paid  at  New  York  for  persons  emigrating,  nor  remit- 
tances by  band,  nor  enclosures  of  cash.  If  we  esti- 
mate these  other  contributions  at  one  third  the 
amount  of  the  money  orders,  we  have  thirty-seven 
million  dollars  earned  for  Ireland  by  her  emigrants 
during  the  last  five  years  —  a  fact  unprecedented  in 
the  relations  of  colonies  and  mother  countries. 

Not  only  has  the  private  generosity  of  the  Irish 
here  been  beyond  parallel,  but  their  liberality  to 
institutions  of  religion  and  learning  in  their  native 
land  has  been  beyond  praise.  There  has  been 
hardly  a  church  built  in  Ireland  the  past  few  years 
to  which  there  were  not  contributions  from  Amer- 
ica. The  new  university,  about  to  be  opened  at 
Dublin  on  St.  Malachy's  feast,  has  received  its 
largest  endowment  from  the  children  of  the  exodus  ; 
and  the  new  Cathedral  Church  of  Armagh  —  of 
Armagh,  the  city  of  St.  Patrick  I  —  has  been,  or  will 
be,  equally  their  debtor.  Though  Ireland  has  not 
yet  gained  commercially  or  politically  by  her  rcla- 


ACTUAL  EELATIONS. 


149 


tions  with  America,  there  is  every  reason  to  hope 
that,  socially,  she  may  hereafter  gain  much  by  tho 
enlarged  means  and  better  position  of  her  generous 
and  unforgetful  children  in  the  new  world. 

I  have  shown  the  balance  of  material  gain  in 
numbers,  in  development,  and  in  commerce  to  be, 
up  to  the  present,  in  favor  of  this  country.  Let  me 
add,  that  the  moral  and  religious  gain  has  been  also 
great  to  the  republic.  By  the  census  of  1850,  the 
•whole  number  of  what  are  called  "  communicants  " 
of  all  our  churches  does  not  exceed  six  million,  of 
whom  within  a  fraction  of  tivo  million  are  set 
down  as  Roman  Catholics.  If  these  statistics  are 
any  thing  near  the  mark,  one  third  of  all  the  pro- 
fessed believers  in  Christianity  in  this  republic  are 
Catholics.  Even  if  men  do  not  regard  this  fact 
with  Catholic  eyes,  they  cannot  in  reason  deny  that 
religion  is  necessary  for  us  all ;  that,  especially 
where  the  civil  power  is  weak,  the  moral  force 
ought  to  be  strong  ;  that  the  strength  of  moral 
force  lies  in  exact  dogmas  and  posi.ive  principles  ; 
that,  therefore,  whatever  occasion  has  added  two 
million  of  positive  believers  to  the  population  of 
this  republic,  has  conferred  on  it  a  benefit  and  a 
blessing,  "better  than  gold  —  yea,  than  fine  gold." 
Looking  at  it  merely  as  a  social  agent,  the  church 
in  America  is  of  the  utmost  importance.  To  her 
appertains  the  science  of  theology  —  the  soul  that 
originally  informed  the  framework  of  our  civiliza- 
tion. Her  doctrine  is  a  system  within  which  the 
grandest  intellects  have  found  ample  range;  her 

13* 


n 


n 


:  g 


150 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OP  AMERICA. 


spirit  is  one  of  true  progress  and  real  conservatism ; 
one  which  looks  to  truth,  and  not  to  popularity  ;  to 
all  time,  and  not  to  the  passion  or  fashion  of  the 
hour.  As  a  mistress  of  philosophy,  as  a  bulwark  of 
order,  as  a  stay  of  law,  the  Catholic  church  is,  so- 
cially, the  most  important  of  all  religious  institu- 
tions to  the  peace  and  harmony  of  this  confederation. 
Its  silent  power  attracts  to  ft  all  studious  minds ; 
and,  by  attraction  or  repulsion,  its  presence  is  felt  in 
every  pulse  and  at  every  pore  of  American  society. 

To  us  Catholics  it  is  much  more  than  a  great 
social  institution.  It  is  the  pillar  and  ground  of 
truth.  It  is  the  work  of  God,  and  partakes  of  the 
attributes  of  its  Author.  Its  decrees  are  justice 
itself,  its  mercy  inexhaustible,  its  love  inexpressible, 
its  glory  incomprehensible.  All  other  institutions 
which  exist  on  earth  the  soul  of  man  can  fathom 
without  fear  ;  but  this  divine  foundation  is  rooted 
in  the  eternal  tides ;  and  he  who  seeks  with  his 
paltry  plummet  to  fathom  them,  seeks  confusion  and 
his  own  shame.  It  partakes,  even  in  space,  of  the 
magnificence  of  its  Maker.  The  morning  sun,  as  he 
steps  forth  out  of  his  chamber  in  the  east,  salutes  it 
first  of  earthly  objects  ;  and  the  noonday  sun  looks 
down  and  cries,  "  Lo,  it  is  here  also ! "  and  the 
evening  sun,  as  he  passes  away  into  the  farthest 
west,  lingers  a  while  upon  its  turrets,  and  pays  a 
parting  visit  to  its  altars. 

To  us  it  is  the  church  of  our  fathers,  the  church 
of  our  exile,  the  church  of  our  children.  It  is 
poetry,  it  is  history,  it  is  art,  it  is  society,  it  is  truth 


ACTUAL  RELATIONS. 


151 


itself.  No  wonder,  then,  that  every  attack  upon  it 
sounds  in  our  ears  as  a  profanation  ;  no  wonder  wo 
should  prefer  to  hear  every  wrong"  the  passions  of 
the  mob  can  plan  or  execute  rather  than  for  one 
moment  to  doubt  or  deny  that  holy  church. 

To  others  of  our  fellow-citizens,  what  we  so  honor 
is  detestf^lile  ;  what  we  so  love  to  contemplate  is  to 
til-  ax.  osore  and  an  ulc  "w  hat  we  venerate  as 
immaculace  they  stigmatize  as  adulterous.  It  is 
very  certain  that  such  opposite  beliefs  cannot  co- 
exist without  collision.  There  will  be,  there  must 
be,  collisions.  There  is  only  one  way  to  avoid 
them  —  for  either  party  to  affect  a  dishonest  indif- 
ference to  dogma,  a  criminal  impartiality  between 
truth  and.  falsehood.  This,  I  trust,  neither  of  us 
shall  do.  But  then,  how  can  we  avoid  coming  into 
collision  with  our  fellow-citizens?  I  repeat,  we 
cannot  always  avoid  it.  No  manly  man,  not  to 
say  sincere  Christian,  can  pass  through  the  world 
without  conflicts  of  opinion  and  belief.  From  boy- 
hood to  old  age  we  all  have  such  battles  to  fight ; 
but  there  is  no  necessity  among  men,  members  of 
the  same  commonwealth,  that  they  should  be  phys- 
ical^battles.  So  long  as  we  discharge  our  duties  to 
the  state,  who  has  any  right  to  arraign  us  in  the 
name  of  the  state  ?  Neither  has  the  state  itself  any 
right  to  arraign  us  in  the  name  of  religion  ;  for  the 
American  state  is  of  no  religion.  As  to  our  public 
conduct,  we  challenge  inquiry  and  comparison ;  as 
to  our  private  conscience,  we  permit  no  human 
power  to  sit  as  umpire  there.     We  shall  worship, 


m 


152 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OF  AMERICA. 


and  pray,  and  teach  our  cliildrcn,  and  clioosc  our 
translation  of  the  Scriptures,  and  endow  our  church, 
as  conscience  dictates  ;  and  not  all  the  forces  of 
earth  and  hell  combined  can  compel  us  to  the  con- 
trary. 

To  those  others  who  seem  disposed  at  present  to 
try  the  experiment  of  a  popular  persecution  of 
Catholics,  if  the  voice  of  reason  still  could  reach 
them,  I  would  say,  Go  down  Chatham  Street.*  Go 
down  Chatham  Street,  and  observe  its  Jewish  in- 
habitants. There  is  a  race  which  has  stood  the  per- 
secutions of  eighteen  centuries  ;  yet  their  numbers 
to-day  are  said  to  be  the  same  they  were  at  their 
dispersion,  and  half  the  thrones  of  the  world  are 
their  mortgaged  chattels.  Has  persecution  con- 
verted the  Jew?  And  is  the  Christian,  with  so 
many  additional  sources  of  spiritual  strength,  —  is 
he  likely  to  yield  before  it  ? 

Look  to  a  more  modern  instance.  For  three 
hundred  years  the  exclusively  Protestant  govern* 
ment  of  Great  Britain  persecuted  the  Irish,  Scotch, 
and  English  Catholics.  It  stripped  them  naked  of 
every  right ;  it  confiscated  their  lands,  seized  their 
churches,  closed  their  schools,  treated  them  as  out- 
laws in  their  own  land.  With  what  result  ?  After 
three  hundred  years  of  an  experiment,  carried  on 
with  a  diabolical  tenacity  and  skill,  the  rusted 
chains  gave  way ;  their  greatest  soldier  declared 


♦  In  these  and  the  previous  discourses,  some  local  allusions  will  be 
understood  by  remembering  that  they  were  originully  delivered  ia 
New  York. 


ACTUAL  RELATIONS. 


153 


I 


tlic  sword  could  not  avail  ;  their  subtlest  statesman 
renounced  all  hope  in  intrigue  or  intimidation.  So, 
in  the  year  1829,  a  strong  man  from  the  west,  by 
name  O'Conncll,  pushed  apart  the  doors  of  the  Brit- 
ish senate,  and  ushered  the  Catholics  of  that  erapiro 
into  their  long-vacant  seats. 

What  do  the  present  conspirators  against  their 
Catholic  fellow-citizens  hope  to  gain  by  persecu- 
tion ?  Did  the  burning  of  the  Philadelphia  churches 
injure  it  in  that  city  ?  Will  the  sack  and  sacrilege 
of  Newark  injure  most  —  those  who  committed,  or 
those  who  suffered,  the  wrong  ?  Will  that  dreadful 
scene  the  other  night  at  Ellsworth  change  the  tenets 
of  any  Catholic?  That  was  a  scene  to  stir  the 
most  lukewarm  blood,  when  a  hundred  armed  ruf- 
fians stole  in  the  darkness  of  midnight  upon  the 
retreat  of  a  poor  Swiss  priest,  stripped  him  beneath 
the  northern  sky,  and  committed  their  nameless  out- 
rages upon  his  defenceless  person.  I  say,  no  man 
of  any  creed  can  think  of  such  an  outrage  without 
feeling  his  blood  boil,  and  his  arm  erect  itself  to 
strike  the  ferocious  midnight  rabble  down. 

The  Irish  Catholics  in  America  have  been  chiefly 
instrumental  in  bringing  this  unpopular  religion  into 
the  country,  and  they  must  be  prepared  for  the  con- 
sequences. They  stand  here,  in  their  highest  rela- 
tion to  the  destiny  of  America,  as  church  builders. 
They  have  paid  back  the  money  of  the  Puritan  by 
acclimating  the  cross  in  the  atmosphere  of  the  Pu- 
ritan. They  have  made  it  known  that  the  25th  of 
December  is  Christmas  day,  and  that  God  is  to  be 


m 


il 


v',-!^ 


1      I'll 

is    'if 


jtj-.i 


154 


CATHOLIC  HISTORY  OP  AMERICA. 


honored  in  bis  saints.  They  have  practically  brought 
to  the  American  mind  the  idea  that  marriage  is  a 
holy  sacrament,  not  a  civil  contract.  In  their 
small  catechism,  they  have  introduced  the  profound- 
est  system  of  Christian  philosophy.  All  this  they 
have  done  out  of  their  poverty,  but  not  without  ex- 
citing derision,  scorn,  envy,  jealousy,  and  fear  —  the 
whole  tribe  of  the  meaner  passions  of  human  na- 
ture. A  tree  of  that  size  does  not  lift  itself  aloft 
without  catching  the  gale,  nor  strike  its  strong 
roots  round  it  without  disturbing  the  earth. 

Contemporaneously  with  their  religious  activity 
they  have  pushed  their  personal  fortunes,  becoming 
citizens,  and  insisting  on  their  civil  rights.  This 
people,  so  long  oppressed  at  home,  show  some  bold- 
ness here  in  pretending  to  any  political  existence. 
Some  Americans  take  offence  at  their  presumption 
in  this  respect  —  "  they  were  a  subject  class  in  Great 
Britain,  and  oughc  to  be  so  here ; "  it  is  very  well 
for  them  to  be  permitted  to  eat  their  pudding  in 
peace  ;  to  claim  equality  is  audacious.  Tell  us,  ye 
professors  of  equality,  ye  apostles  of  progress,  is 
this  your  progress,  is  this  your  equality?  If  so, 
give  me  the  undisguised  tyrant,  who  acts  as  he 
speaks,  and  speaks  before  he  strikes,  instead  of  such 
mobs  as  would  fain  make  themselves  our  masters. 

Here  I  may  well  close.  Whoever  lives  to  see 
the  end  of  this  century  may  be  in  a  position  to  fin- 
ish the  subject. 


DOCUMENTS  ILLUSTRATIVE 


OP   THE 


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CATHOLIC  HISTORY  OP  AMERICA. 


,:';|i 


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I 

v. 


1 


(155) 


'ini 


[  -i:! 


APPENDIX. 


NO.  I. 

THE  WILL  OP  CHRISTOPHER  COLUMLT^S. 


[For  the  followng  translation  of  this  characto-l;.!'  document,  wc  .'O 
indebted  to  Washington  Irving's  Life  of  C  ^um'us,  vol.  iii.  p.  444, 
Putnam's  (New  York)  edition,  1819.] 

« 

In  the  name  of  the  Most  Holy  Trinity,  who  inspired 
me  with  the  idea,  and  afterwards  ma<^e  it  perfectly  clear 
to  me,  that  I  could  navigate  and  go  to  the  Indies  from 
Spain,  by  traversing  the  ocean  westwardly ;  which  I  com- 
municated to  the  king,  Don  Ferdinand,  and  to  the  queen, 
Doiia  Isabella,  our  sovereigns ;  and  they  were  pleased  to 
furnish  me  the  necessary  e*  i  ■;  inent  of  men  and  ships,  and 
to  make  me  their  admiral  over  the  said  ocean,  in  all  parts 
lying  to  the  west  of  an  imaginary  line,  drawn  from  pole  to 
pole,  a  hundred  leagues}  west  of  the  Cape  de  Verd  and 
Azore  Islands ;  abo  appointing  me  their  viceroy  and  gov- 
ernor over  all  continents  and  islands  that  I  might  discover 
beyond  the  said  line  westwardly,  with  the  riglit  of  being 


I 


'i 


158 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OP   AMERICA. 


succeeded  in  the  said  offices  by  my  eldest  son  and  liis  heirs 
forever ;  and  a  grant  of  the  tenth  part  of  all  things  found 
in  the  said  jurisdiction;  and  of  all  rente  and  revenues 
arising  from  it ;  and  the  eighth  of  all  the  lands  and  every 
thing  else,  together  with  the  salary  corresponding  to  my 
rank  of  admiral,  viceroy,  and  governor,  and  all  other  emol- 
uments accruing  thereto,  as  is  more  fully  expressed  in  the 
title  and  agreement  sanctioned  by  their  highnesses. 

And  it  pleased  the  Lord  Almighty  that  in  the  year 
1492  I  should  discover  the  continent  of  the  Indies  and 
many  islands,  among  them  Hispaniola,  which  the  Indians 
call  Ayte,  and  the  Monicongos,  Cipango.  I  then  returned 
to  Castile  to  their  highnesses,  who  approved  of  my  under- 
taking a  second  enterprise  for  further  discoveries  and  set- 
tlements ;  and  the  Lord  gave  me  victory  over  the  Island 
of  Hispaniola,  which  extends  six  hundred  leagues,  and  I 
conquered  it  and  made  it  tributary;  and  I  discovered 
many  islands  inhabited  by  cannibals,  and  seven  hundred 
to  the  west  of  Hispaniola,  among  which  is  Jamaica,  which 
we  call  Santiago,  and  three  hundred  and  thirty-three 
leagues  of  continent  from  south  to  west,  besides  a  hundred 
and  seven  to  the  north,  which  I  discovered  in  my  first 
voyage,  together  with  many  islands,  as  may  more  clearly 
be  seen  by  my  letters,  memorials,  and  maritime  charts. 
And  as  we  hope  in  Gou  that  before  long  a  good  and  great 
revenue  will  be  derived  from  the  above  islands  and  conti- 
nent, of  which,  for  the  reasons  aforesaid,  belong  to  me  the 
tenth  and  the  eighth,  with  the  salaries  and  emoluments 
specified  above ;  and  considering  that  we  are  mortal,  and 
that  it  is  proper  for  every  one  to  settle  his  affairs,  and  to 
leave  declared  to  his  heirs  and  successors  the  property  he 
\  jsseeses  or  may  have  a  right  to :  Wherefore  I  have  con- 


f'. 


APPENDIX. 


159 


.1  I 

i 


eluded  to  create  an  entailed  estate  (mayorazgo)  out  of  the 
said  eighth  of  the  lands,  places,  and  revenues,  in  the  man- 
ner which  I  now  proceed  to  state. 

In  the  first  place,  I  am  to  be  succeeded  by  Don  Diego, 
my  son,  who  in  case  of  death  without  children  is  to  be  suc- 
ceeded by  my  other  son  Ferdinand ;  and  should  God  dis- 
pose of  him  also  without  leaving  cliildren,  and  without  my 
having  any  other  son,  then  my  brother  Don  Bartholomew 
is  to  succeed ;  and  after  him  his  eldest  son ;  and  if  God 
should  dispose  of  him  Avithout  heirs,  he  shall  be  succeeded 
by  his  sons  from  one  to  another  forever ;  or,  in  the  failure 
of  a  son,  to  be  succeeded  by  Don  Ferdinand,  after  the 
same  manner,  from  son  to  son  successively,  or  in  their 
place  by  my  brothers  Bartholomew  and  Diego.  And 
should  it  please  the  Lord  that  the  estate,  after  having  con- 
tinued for  some  time  in  the  line  of  any  of  the  above  suc- 
cessors, should  stand  in  need  of  an  immediate  and  lawful 
male  heir,  the  succession  shall  then  devolve  to  the  nearest 
relation,  being  a  man  of  legitimate  birth,  and  bearing  the 
name  of  Columbus,  derived  from  his  father  and  his  ances- 
tors. This  entailed  estate  shall  in  no  wise  be  inherited  by 
a  woman,  except  in  case  that  no  male  is  to  be  found,  either 
in  this  or  any  other  quarter  of  the  world,  of  my  real 
lineage,  whose  name,  as  well  as  that  of  his  ancestors,  shall 
have  always  been  Columbus.  In  such  an  event,  (which 
may  God  forefend !)  then  the  female  of  legitimate  birth,  most 
nearly  related  to  the  preceding  possessor  of  the  estate, 
shall  succeed  to  it ;  and  this  is  to  be  under  the  conditions 
herein  stipulated  at  foot,  which  must  be  understood  to  ex- 
tend aa  well  to  Don  Diego,  my  son,  as  to  the  aforesaid  and 
their  heirs,  every  one  of  them,  to  be  fulfilled  by  them ;  and 
failing  to  do  so,  they  are  to  be  deprived  of  the  succession, 


I 


i  'M 


Ml* 


f 


b 


' 


i 


160 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OP  AMERICA. 


for  not  having  complied  with  wluit  shall  herein  be  ex- 
pressed, and  the  estate  to  pass  to  the  person  most  nearly 
related  to  the  one  who  held  the  right ;  and  the  person  thus 
succeeding  shall  in  like  manner  forfeit  the  estate,  should 
he  also  fail  to  comply  with  said  conditions ;  and  another 
person,  the  nearest  of  my  lineage,  shall  succeed,  provided 
he  abide  by  them,  so  that  they  may  be  observed  forever  in  ^ 
the  form  prescribed.  This  forfeiture  is  not  to  be  incurred 
for  trifling  matters,  originating  in  lawsuits,  but  in  impor- 
tant cases,  when  the  glory  of  God,  or  my  own,  or  that  of 
my  family  may  be  concerned,  which  supposes  a  perfect 
fulfilment  of  all  the  things  hereby  ordained ;  all  which 
I  recommend  to  the  courts  of  justice.  And  I  supplicate 
his  holiness,  Avho  now  is,  and  those  that  may  succeed  in 
the  holy  church,  that  if  it  should  happen  that  this  my  will 
and  testament  has  need  of  his  holy  order  and  command  for 
its  fulfilment,  that  such  order  be  issued  in  virtue  of  obe- 
dience, and  under  penalty  of  excommunication,  and  that 
it  shall  not  be  in  any  wise  disfigured.  And  I  also  pray 
the  king  and  queen,  our  sovereigns,  and  their  eldest  born, 
Prince  Don  Juan,  our  lord,  and  their  successors,  for  the 
sake  of  the  services  I  have  done  them,  and  because  it  is 
just,  that  it  may  please  them  not  to  permit  this  my  will 
and  constitution  of  my  entailed  estate  to  be  any  way  altered, 
but  to  leave  it  in  the  form  and  manner  which  I  have 
ordained,  forever,  for  the  greater  glory  of  the  Almighty, 
and  that  it  may  be  the  root  and  basis  of  my  lineage,  and  a 
memento  of  the  services  I  have  rendered  their  highnesses ; 
that,  being  born  in  Genoa,  I  came  over  to  serve  them  in 
Castile,  and  discovered  to  the  west  of  Terra  Firma  the 
Indies  and  islands  before  mentioned.  I  accordingly  pray 
their  highnesses  to  order  that  this  my  privilege  and  testa- 


APPENDIX. 


161 


ment  be  held  valid,  and  be  executed  summarily  and  with- 
out any  opi)osition  or  demur,  accordln;:;  to  the  letter.  I 
/«lso  pray  the  grandees  of  the  realm  and  the  lords  of  the 
council,  and  all  others  having  administration  of  justice,  to 
be  pleased  not  to  suffer  this  my  will  and  testament  to  be 
of  no  avail,  but  to  cause  it  to  be  fulfilled  as  by  me  ordained ; 
it  being  just  that  a  Jioble,  who  has  served  the  king  and 
queen  and  the  kingdom,  should  be  respected  in  the  dispo- 
sition of  his  estate  by  will,  testament,  institution  of  entail 
or  inheritance,  and  that  the  same  be  not  infringed  either 
in  whole  or  in  part. 

In  the  first  place,  my  son  Don  Diego,  and  all  my  suc- 
cessors and  descendants,  as  well  as  my  brothers  Bartholo- 
mew and  Diego,  shall  bear  my  arms,  such  as  I  shall  leave 
them  after  my  days,  without  inserting  any  thing  else  in 
them ;  and  they  shall  be  their  seal  to  seal  withal.  Don 
Diego  my  son,  or  any  other  who  may  inherit  this  estate, 
on  coming  into  possession  of  the  inheritance,  shall  sign 
with  the  signature  which  I  now  make  use  of,  which  is  an 
X  with  an  S  over  it,  and  an  M  wnth  a  Roman  A  over  it, 
and  over  that  an  S,  and  then  a  Greek  Y,  with  an  S  over 
it,  with  its  lines  and  points  as  is  my  custom,  as  may  be 
seen  by  my  signatures,  of  which  there  are  many,  and  it 
will  be  seen  by  the  present  one. 

He  shall  only  write  "the  admiral,"  whatever  other 
titles  the  king  may  have  conferred  on  him.  This  is  to  be 
understood  as  respects  his  signature,  but  not  the  enumera- 
tion of  his  titles,  which  he  can  make  at  full  length  if  agree- 
able, only  th3  signature  is  to  be  "  the  admiral." 

The  said  Don  Diego,  or  any  other  inheritor  of  this 
estate,  shall  possess  my  offices  of  admiral  of  the  ocean, 
which  is  to  the  west  of  an  imaginary  line,  which  his  high- 

11* 


1^1 


;    rl 


'^M 


162 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY   OF  AMERICA. 


} 


i 
I 


»ii 


ness  ordered  to  be  dravn,  running  from  pole  to  pole  a 
hundred  leagues  beyond  the  Azores,  and  as  many  more 
beyond  the  Cape  de  Verd  Islands,  over  all  which  I  was<^ 
made,  by  their  order,  their  admiral  of  the  sea,  with  all 
the  preeminences  held  by  Don  Henrique  in  the  admiralty 
of  Castile,  and  they  made  me  their  governor  and  viceroy 
perpetually  and  forever  over  all  the  islands  and  main- 
land discovered,  or  to  be  discovered,  for  myself  and  heirs, 
as  is  more  fully  shown  by  my  treaty  and  privilege  as  above 
mentioned. 

Item :  The  said  Diego,  or  any  other  inheritor  of  this 
estate,  shall  distribute  the  revenue  which  it  may  please 
our  Lord  to  grant  him  in  the  following  manner,  under  the 
above  penalty :  — 

First :  Of  the  whole  income  of  this  estate,  now  and  at 
all  times,  and  of  whatever  may  be  had  or  collected  from 
it,  he  shall  give  the  fourth  part  annually  to  my  brother 
Don  Bartholomew  Columbus",  Adelantado  of  the  Indies ; 
and  this  is  to  continue  till  he  shall  have  acquired  an  income 
of  a  million  of  maravadises  for  his  support,  and  for  the 
services  he  has  rendered  and  will  continue  to  render  to 
this  entailed  estate  ;  which  million  he  is  to  receive,  as 
stated,  every  year,  if  the  said  fourth  amount  to  so  much, 
and  that  he  have  nothing  else ;  but  if  he  possess  a  part  or 
the  whole  of  that  amount  in  rents,  that  thenceforth  he  shall 
not  enjoy  the  said  million,  nor  any  part  of  it,  except  that 
he  shall  have  in  the  said  fourth  part  unto  the  said  quantity 
of  a  million,  if  it  should  amount  to  so  much  ;  and  as  much 
as  he  shall  have  of  revenue  beside  this  fourth  part,  what- 
ever sum  of  maravadises  of  known  rent  from  property  or 
perpetual  offices,  the  said  quantity  of  rent  or  revenue  from 
property  or  offices  shall  be  discounted,  and  from  the  said 


APPENDIX. 


163 


million  shall  be  reserved  whatever  marriac^e  portion  he 
may  receive  'svith  any  female  he  may  espouse  ;  so  tliat, 
whatever  he  may  receive  in  marriage  Avith  his  Avife,  no 
deduction  shall  be  made  on  that  account  from  said  million, 
but  only  for  whatever  he  may  acquire,  or  may  have,  over 
and  above  his  wife's  dowry ;  and  when  it  shall  please  God 
that  he  or  his  heirs  and  descendants  shall  derive  from  their 
property  and  offices  a  revenue  of  a  million  arising  from 
rents,  neither  he  nor  his  heirs  shall  enjoy  any  longer  any 
thing  from  the  said  fourth  part  of  tlie  entailed  estate,  which 
shall  remain  with  Don  Diego,  or  whoever  may  inherit  it. 

Item :  From  the  revenues  of  the  said  estate,  or  from 
any  other  fourth  part  of  it,  (should  its  amount  be  adequate 
to  it,)  shall  be  paid  every  year  to  my  son  Ferdinand  two 
millions,  till  such  time  as  his  revenue  shall  amount  to  two 
millions,  in  the  same  form  and  manner  as  in  the  case  of 
Bartholomew,  Avho,  as  well  as  his  heirs,  are  to  have  the 
million  or  the  part  that  may  be  wanting.  . 

Item :  The  said  Don  Diego  or  Don  Bartholomew  shall 
make  out  of  the  said  estate,  for  my  brother  Diego,  such 
provision  as  may  enable  him  to  live  decently,  as  he  is  my 
brother,  to  whom  I  assign  no  particular  sum,  as  he  has 
attached  himself  to  the  church,  and  that  Avill  be  given  him 
which  is  right :  and  this  to  be.  given  him  in  a  mass,  and 
before  any  thing  shall  have  been  received  by  Ferdinand 
my  son,  or  Bartholomew  my  brother,  or  their  heirs,  and 
also  according  to  the  amount  of  the  income  of  the  estate. 
And  in  case  of  discord,  the  case  is  to  be  referred  to  two 
of  our  relations,  or  other  men  of  honor  ;  and  should  they 
disagree  among  themselves,  they  will  choose  a  third  person 
as  arbitrator,  being  virtuous  and  not  distrusted  by  either 
party. 


f* 


I 


'i 


n 


164 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OF   AMERICA. 


Item :  All  this  revenue  wliicli  I  bequeath  to  Bartliolo- 
rng^w,  to  Ferdinand,  and  to  Diego,  shall  be  delivered  to 
•:'•  iSrf  received  by  them  as  prescribed  under  the  obligation 
OFueing  faithful  and  loyal  to  Diego  my  son,  or  his  heirs, 
they  as  well  as  their  children ;  and  should  it  appear  that 
they,  or  any  of  them,  had  proceeded  against  him  in  any 
thing  touching  his  honor,  or  the  prosperity  of  the  family, 
or  of  the  estate,  either  in  word  or  deed,  whereby  might 
come  a  scandal  and  debasement  to  my  family  and  a  detri- 
ment to  my  estate,  in  that  case  nothing  further  shall  be 
given  to  them  or  him  from  that  time  forward,  inasmuch 
as  they  are  always  to  be  faithful  to  Diego  and  to  his 
successors. 

Item :  As  it  was  my  intention,  when  I  first  instituted 
this  entailed  estate,  to  dispose,  or  that  my  son  Diego  should 
dispose  for  me,  of  the  tenth  part  of  the  income  in  favor 
of  necessitous  persons,  as  a  tithe,  and  in  commemoration 
of  the  almighty  and  eternal  God,  and  persisting  still  in 
this  opinion,  and  hoping  that  his  high  Majesty  will  assist 
me,  and  those  who  may  inherit  it,  in  this  or  the  new  world, 
I  have  resolved  that  the  said  tithe  shall  be  paid  in  the 
manner  following :  — 

First :  It  is  to  be  understood  that  the  fourth  part  of  the 
revenue  of  the  estate  which  I  have  ordained  and  directed 
to  be  given  to  Don  Bartholomew,  till  he  have  an  income 
of  one  million,  includes  the  tenth  of  the  whole  revenue 
of  the  estate ;  and  that  as  in  proportion  as  the  income  of 
my  brother  Don  Bartholomew  shall  increase,  as  it  has  to 
be  discounted  from  the  revenue  of  the  fourth  part  of  the 
entailed  estate,  that  the  said  revenue  shall  be  calculated, 
to  know  how  much  the  tenth  part  amounts  to;  and  the 
part  which  exceeds  what  is  necessary  to  make  up  the  mil- 


""■*""*'*w1<Ji 


APPENDIX. 


165 


1 


Hon  for  Don  Bartholomew  shall  be  received  by  pueh  of  my 
family  as  may  most  stand  in  need  of  it,  discounting  it  from 
said  tenth,  if  their  income  do  not  amount  to  fifty  thousand 
maravadises ;  and  should  any  of  these  come  4o  have  an 
income  to  this  amount,  such  a  part  shall  be  awarded  them 
as  two  persons,  chosen  for  the  purpose,  may  determine 
along  with  Don  Diego,  or  his  heirs.  Thus  it  is  to  be  un- 
derstood that  the  million  which  I  leave  to  Don  Bartholo- 
mew comprehends  the  tenth  of  the  whole  revenue  of  the 
estate,  which  revenue  is  to  be  distributed  among  my  near- 
est and  most  needy  relations  in  the  manner  I  have  directed ; 
and  when  Don  Bartholomew  have  an  income  of  one  mil- 
lion, and  that  nothing  more  shall  be  due  to  him  on  account 
of  said  fourth  part,  then  Don  Di(?go  my  son,  or  the  person 
who  may  be  in  possession  of  the  estate,  along  with  the 
two  other  persons  which  I  shall  herein  point  out,  shall  in- 
spect the  accounts,  and  so  direct  that  the  tenth  of  the 
revenue  shall  still  continue  to  be  paid  to  the  most  neces- 
sitous members  of  my  family  that  may  be  found  in  this  or 
any  other  quai'ter  of  the  Avorld,  who  shall  be  diligently 
sought  out,  and  they  are  to  be  paid  out  of  the  fourth  part 
from  which  Don  Bartholomew  is  to  derive  his  million ; 
which  sums  are  to  be  taken  into  account,  and  deducted 
from  the  said  tenth,  which  should  it  amount  to  more,  the 
overplus,  as  it  arises  from  the  fourth  part,  shall  be  given 
to  the  most  necessitous  persons  as  aforesaid  ;  and  should  it 
not  be  sufficient,  that  Don  Bartholomew  shall  have  it  until 
his  own  estate  goes  on  increasing,  leaving  the  said  million 
in  part  or  in  the  whole. 

Item :  The  said  Don  Diego  my  son,  or  whoever  may  be 
the  inheritor,  shall  appoint  two  persons  of  conscience  and 
authority,  and  most  nearly  related  to  the  family,  who  are 


'\u 


ii 

i  ^4i 


166 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY   OF  AMERICA. 


f! 


to  examine  the  revenue  and  its  amount  carefully,  and  to 
cau,;c  the  said  tentli  to  b(;  paid  out  of  the  fourth  from 
■vvhieh  Don  Bartholomew  is  to  receive  Ids  nullion,  to  the 
most  nece*-itated  members  of  my  family  that  may  be  found 
here  or  elsewhere,  whom  they  s-hall  look  for  diligently  upon 
their  consciences ;  and  as  it  might  happen  that  said  Don 
Diego,  or  others  after  him,  for  reasons  which  may  concern 
their  own  welfare  or  the  credit  and  support  of  the  estate, 
may  be  unwilling  to  make  known  the  full  amount  of  the 
income,  nevertheless  1  charge  him,  on  his  conscience,  to 
pay  the  sum  aforesaid ;  and  I  cliarge  them,  on  their  souls 
and  consciences,  not  to  denounce  or  make  it  known,  ex- 
cept with  the  consent  of  Don  Diego  or  the  person  that 
may  succeed  him ;  but  let  the  above  tithe  be  paid  in  the 
manner  I  have  directed. 

Item :  In  order  to  avoid  all  disputes  in  the  choice  of  the 
two  nearest  relations  who  are  to  act  with  Don  Diego  or 
his  heirs,  I  hereby  elect  Don  Bartholomew  my  brother  for 
one,  and  Don  Fernando  my  son  for  the  other ;  and  when 
these  two  shall  enter  upon  the  business,  they  shall  choose 
two  other  persons  among  the  most  trusty  and  most  nearly 
related,  and  these  again  shall  elect  two  others  when  it 
shall  be  question  of  commencing  the  examination ;  and 
thus  it  shall  be  managed  with  diligence  from  one  to  the 
other,  as  well  in  this  as  in  the  other  of  government,  for 
the  service  and  glory  of  God  and  the  benefit  of  the  said 
entailed  estate. 

Item :  I  also  enjoin  Diego,  or  any  one  that  may  inherit 
the  estate,  to  have  and  maintain,  in  the  city  of  Genoa,  one 
person  of  our  lineage  to  reside  there  with  his  wife,  and 
appoint  him  a  sufficient  revenue  to  enable  him  to  live  de- 
cently, as  a  person  closely  connected  with  the  family,  of 


APPENDIX. 


167 


1 


M'liit'li  lie  is  to  1)0  the  root  and  basis  in  tliat  city ;  from 
wiiicli  great  <»o(xl  inny  accrue  to  hiin,  inasmuch  ha  I  wixs 
born  there,  and  came  from  thence. 

Item :  The  said  Don  Diego,  or  Avlioevcr  shall  inherit 
the  estate,  must  remit  in  bills,  or  in  any  other  way,  all 
such  sums  as  he  may  be  able  to  save  out  of  the  •(.venue 
of  the  estate,  and  direct  purchases  to  be  made  in  liis  name, 
or  that  of  his  heirs,  in  a  stock  in  the  Bank  of  St.  George, 
which  gives  an  interest  of  six  per  cent,  and  in  secure 
money ;  and  this  shall  be  devoted  to  the  purpose  I  am 
about  to  exjdain. 

Item :  As  it  becomes  every  man  of  property  to  serve 
God,  either  personally  or  by  means  of  his  wealth,  and  as 
all  moneys  deposited  with  St.  George  are  quite  safe,  and 
Genoa  is  a  noble  city,  and  powerful  by  sea,  and  as  at  the 
time  that  I  undertook  to  set  out  u[)on  the  discovery  of  the 
Indies  it  was  with  the  intention  of  supplicating  the  king 
and  queen,  our  lords,  that  whatever  moneys  should  be  de- 
rived from  the  said  Indies  should  be  invested  in  the  con- 
quest of  Jerusalem,  and  as  I  did  so  supplicate  them,  if 
they  do  this,  it  will  be  well ;  if  not,  at  all  events,  the  said 
Diego,  or  such  person  as  may  succeed  him  in  this  trust,  to 
collect  together  all  the  money  he  can,  and  accompany  the 
king  our  lord,  should  he  go  to  the  conquest  of  Jerusalem, 
or  else  go  there  himself  with  all  the  force  he  can  command ; 
and  in  pursuing  this  intention,  it  will  please  the  Lord  to 
assist  towards  the  accomplishment  of  the  plan ;  and  should 
he  not  be  able  to  effect  the  conquest  of  the  whole,  no  doubt  he 
will  achieve  it  in  part.  Let  him  therefore  collect  and  make 
a  fund  of  all  his  wealth  in  St.  George  of  Genoa,  and  let 
it  multiply  there  till  such  time  as  it  may  appear  to  him 
that  something  of  conseq'»ence  may  be  effected  as  respects 


tti; 


I 


168 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OF   AMERICA. 


the  project  on  Jerusulem ;  for  T  believe  that,  when  their 
highiK'sses  shall  see  that  this  is  contemplated,  they  will  wish 
to  realize  it  themselves,  or  will  ailbrd  him,  as  their  servant 
and  vassal,  the  means  of  doing  it  le:*  them. 

Item :  1  charge  my  son  Diego  and  my  descendants, 
especially  whoever  may  iidierit  this  estate,  which  consists, 
as  aforesaid,  of  the  tenth  of  whatsoever  may  be  had  or 
found  in  the  Ijulies,  and  the  eighth  part  of  the  lands  and 
rents,  all  which,  together  with  my  rights  and  emoluments 
as  admiral,  viceroy,  and  governor,  amount  to  more  than 
twenty-tive  per  cent.,  —  I  say,  that  I  require  of  him  to  em- 
ploy all  this  revenue,  as  well  as  his  person  and  all  the 
means  in  his  jiower,  in  well  and  faithfully  serving  and  sup- 
porting their  highnesses,  or  their  successors,  even  to  the 
loss  of  life  and  property ;  since  it  was  their  highnesses,  next 
to  God,  who  first  gave  me  the  means  of  getting  and  achiev- 
ing this  property ;  although  it  is  true  I  came  over  to  these 
realms  to  invite  them  to  the  enterprise,  and  that  a  long 
time  elapsed  before  any  provision  was  made  for  carrying 
it  into  execution;  wdiicli,  however,  is  not  surprising,  as 
this  was  an  undertaking  of  which  all  the  world  was  igno- 
rant,  and  no  one  had  any  faith  in  it ;  wherefore  I  am  by 
so  much  the  more  indebted  to  them,  as  Avell  as  because 
they  have  since  also  much  favored  and  promoted  me. 

Item :  I  ^so  require  of  Diego,  or  whomsoever  may  be  in 
possession  of  the  estate,  that  in  the  case  of  any  schism 
taking  place  in  the  church  of  God,  or  that  any  person  of 
whatever  class  or  condition  should  attempt  to  despoil  it  of 
its  property  and  honors,  they  hasten  to  otfer  at  the  feet  of 
his  holiness,  that  is,  if  they  are  not  heretics,  (which  God 
forbid!)  their  persons,  power,  and  Avealth,  for  the  purpose 
of  suppressing  such  schism  and  preventing  any  spoliation 
of  the  honor  and  property  of  the  church. 


V- 


I 


APPENDIX. 


1G9 


Item :  I  command  the  said  Diego,  or  whoever  may  pos- 
sess the  said  estate,  to  lahor  and  strive  for  the  honor,  wel- 
fare, and  aggrandizement  of  the  city  of  Genoa,  and  to  make 
use  of  all  his  power  and  means  in  defending  and  enhancing 
the  good  and  credit  of  that  republic  in  all  things  not  con- 
trary to  the  service  of  the  church  of  God,  or  the  high 
dig!iity  of  our  king  and  qu<H'n,  our  lords,  and  their  suc- 
cessors. 

Item :  The  said  Diego,  or  whoever  niay  possess  or  suc- 
ceed to  the  estate,  out  of  the  fourth  part  of  the  whole  rev- 
enue, from  which,  as  aforesaid,  is  to  be  taken  the  tenth, 
when  Don  Bartholomew  or  his  heirs  shall  have  saved  tho 
two  millions,  or  part  of  them,  and  when  the  time  shall 
come  of  making  a  distribution  among  our  relations,  shall 
apply  and  invest  the  said  tenth  in  providing  marriages  for 
6uch  daughters  of  our  lineage  as  may  require  it,  and  in 
doing  all  the  good  in  their  power. 

Item :  When  a  suitable  time  shall  arrive,  he  shall  order 
a  church  to  be  built  in  the  Island  of  Hispaniola,  and  in  the 
most  convenient  spot,  to  be  called  Santa  Maria  de  la  Con- 
cepcion ;  to  which  is  to  be  annexed  a  hospital,  upon  the 
best  possible  plan,  like  those  of  Italy  and  Castile,  and  a 
chapel  erected  to  say  mass  in  for  the  good  of  my  soul,  and 
those  of  my  ancestors  and  successors  with  great  devotion, 
since  no  doubt  it  will  please  the  Lord  to  give  us  a  sutficient 
revenue  for  this  and  the  aforementioned  purposes. 

Item :  I  also  order  Diego  my  son,  or  whomsoever  may 
inherit  after  him,  to  spare  no  pains  in  having  and  main- 
taining in  the  Island  of  Hispaniola  four  good  professors 
of  t'leology,  to  the  end  and  aim  of  their  studying  and 
laboring  to  convert  to  our  holy  faith  the  inhabitants  of  the 
Indies ;  and  in  proportion  as,  by  God's  will,  the  revenue 

15 


I-'; 


no 


CATHOLIC   rilSTOUY   OF   AMEUUM. 


of  the  estate  shall  incroaflo,  in  the  samo  dogrco  .shall  iho 
number  of  teachers  and  devout  itiereasf,  wlio  are  to  strive 
to  mal<e  Christians  of  tlie  natives  ;  in  attaininji;  wliieli,  no 
expense  should  be  thought  too  ^reat.  And  in  (lonnnem- 
oration  of  all  that  I  hereby  ordafn,  and  of  the  foregoing, 
n  monument  of  marble  shall  be  erected  in  tiie  said  church 
of  La  Conccpcion,  in  the  most  conspicuous  i)lace,  to  servo 
as  a  record  of  what  I  here  enjoin  on  tlio  said  Diego,  as  well 
as  to  other  persons  who  may  look  upon  it ;  wliich  marblo 
shall  contain  an  inscription  to  the  same  effect. 

Item :  I  also  require  of  Diego  my  son,  and  whomsoever 
may  succeed  him  in  the  estate,  that  every  time,  and  as 
often  as  he  confesses,  he  first  show  this  obligation,  or  a 
copy  of  it,  to  the  confessor,  praying  him  to  read  it  through, 
that  he  may  be  enabled  to  inquire  respecting  its  fulfilment ; 
from  which  will  redound  great  good  and  happiness  to  his 
soul. 

S. 
o.  A.  o.  ., 

X.M.Y. 
ELALMIRANTE. 


f 


NO.  II. 


LETTER  AND    BULL  OF    TOPE  ALEXANDER  VI.   IN 
RELATION  TO   THE  DISCOVERY   OF   AMERICA. 

[Translated  from  the  Ecclesiastical  Annals  of  Cardinal  Baronius,  A.  D. 
1493,  by  Ilov.  M.  T.  Gibson,  of  the  diocese  of  Boston.] 


Soon  after  the  return  of  Coluinbii.s,  a  tlir^pute  arose  be- 
tween the  Kings  of  Portugal  and  Spain  concerning  the 
empire  of  the  ocean  and  the  new  worUl.  Th''  King  of 
Portugal  claimed  the  islands  discovered  by  Columbus  ;  but 
the  King  of  Spain  denied  that  he  had  any  claim  whatever 
on  them.  Pope  Alexander  VI.  decided  this  dispute  in  fa- 
vor of  the  latter,  and  asserted,  by  many  and  by  ample 
diplomas,  the  right  and  empire  of  the  new  world  to  Fer- 
dinand, and  gave  him  the  same  prerogatives  the  popes 
had  granted  to  the  kings  of  Portugal  over  the  western 
shores  of  Africa,  Guinea,  and  the  gold  mines. 

To  our  dearest  son  in  Christ,  Ferdinand,  King,  and  to 
our  dearest  daughter  in  Christ,  Isabella,  Queen,  of  Castile 
Leon,  Arragon,  and  Granada  :  Most  illustrious  health,  S^c. 

The  sincerity  of  your  great  devotion,  and  the  perfect 
faith  with  which  you  reverence  us  and  the  Roman  church, 
have  richly  deserved  that  we  grant  you  those  things  by 
which  you  may  be  able  to  prosecute  your  holy  and  praise- 

(171) 


III 


i 


172 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OF  AMERICA. 


worthy  designs,  and  the  undertaking  you  have  coraraenced, 
of  searching  remote  and  unknown  islands  and  continents, 
with  more  ease,  and  in  a  better  manner,  for  the  h^'-  of 
Almighty  God,  and  propagation  of  the  Christio'  ^lupire, 
and  exaltation  of  the  Catholic  faith. 

Hence  we  this  day  give,  grant,  and  assign  all  and 
each  island  and  continent,  remote  and  unknown,  towards 
the  west,  situated  in  the  sea  and  ocean,  discovered  or  to 
be  discovered  by  you,  or  persons  sent  by  you,  at  great 
labor,  danger,  and  expense,  which  are  not  under  the  actual 
temporal  dominion  of  any  Christian  master,  with  all  their 
domains,  cities,  ports,  towns,  villages,  right  and  jurisdic- 
tion to  you,  and  your  heirs  and  successors,  kings  of  Castile 
and  Leon,  forever,  by  our  motu  proprio,  certain  knowledge 
and  plenitude  of  apostolic  power,  as  are  fully  contained  in 
our  letters. 

As  to  the  kings  of  Portugal  who  discovered  and  took 
possession  of  certain  parts  of  Africa,  Guinea,  and  the  gold 
mines,  and  other  islands,  even  by  a  similar  apostolic 
concession  and  donation  made  in  their  favor,  divers  priv- 
ileges, favors,  liberties,  immunities,  exemptions,  faculties,  let- 
ters, and  indulta  were  granted ;  not  wishing,  as  it  was  worthy 
and  fit,  thi  t  you  and  your  heirs  and  successors  aforementioned 
should  not  have  less  favors  and  prerogatives  by  a  similar 
motive,  not  at  the  presentation  of  any  petition  by  you,  or 
any  one  for  you,  but  from  our  pure  liberality  and  certain 
knowledge  and  plenitude  of  aj.ostolic  power,  to  you  and  your 
heirs  and  successors  aforementioned,  that  in  the  islands  and 
lands  by  you  or  in  your  name  discovered  and  to  be  dis- 
covered, all  and  each,  favors,  privileges,  exemptions,  let- 
ters, indults  of  this  kind  granted  to  the  kings  of  Portugal, 
by  the  present  letters  we  wish  you  to  have  the  tenor  of 


^v 


ii 


..  J>&3iaiieiuri_  . 


n 


; 


APPENDIX. 


173 


all,  as  if  they  were  here  inserted  word  for  word,  and  suf- 
ficiently expressed,  that  you  may  lawfully  possess  and  en- 
joy ;  and  you  ought  in  all  things,  as  if  all  those  things 
were  specially  granted  to  you,  your  heirs  and  successors 
aforementioned,  which  by  the  authority  and  apostolic  tenor 
of  the  present  letters,  by  a  gift  of  special  favor,  we  grant ; 
and  those  in  all  things  and  for  all  things  to  you,  your  heirs 
and  successors  aforementioned,  we  extend  likewise  and 
amplify,  and  to  the  same  in  due  manner  and  form  perpet- 
ually grant,  notwithstanding  constitutions  and  apostolic 
ordinances,  and  all  those  things  which  were  granted  in  let- 
ters to  the  kings  of  Portugal. 

Given  at   Rome,  at   St.    Peter's,  A.  D.  1493,  5th  of 
May,  first  year  of  our  pontificate. 

Alexander  VI.* 


THE    BULL  "INTER  CETERA  DIVINE  MAGISTRATE 
BENEPLACITA  OPERA,"  &c. 

Alexander,  bishop,  servant  op  the  servants 
OF  God  :  To  our  beloved  son  Ferdinand,  King^  and  to 
our  beloved  daughter  Isabella,  Queen,  of  Castile,  Leon, 
Arragon,  the  Sicilies,  and  Granada  :  Most  illustrious  per- 
sonages, health  and  apostolic  benediction. 

Among  the  many  works  pleasing  to  the  divine  Majesty 
and  desirable  to  our  hearts,  this  particularly  prevails,  that 

•  The  illustrious  civilian,  Count  Joseph  de  Maistre,  in  his  work  en- 
titled "  The  Pope,"  thus  speaks  of  this  bull  of  Alexander :  — 

"A  century  before  the  time  of  the  celebrated  treaty  of  Westphalia, 
a  pope,  who  presents  in  his  own  person  a  melancholy  exception  to  that 
long  aeries  of  virtues  by  which  the  holy  see  has  been  honored,  pub- 
lished the  famous  bull  which  divided  between  the  Spaniards  and  the 

15* 


i 


I 


f 

f' 


11 


i,^ 


174 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY    OF   AMERICA. 


the  Catholic  faith  and  Christian  religion,  especially  in 
our  times,  niay  be  exalted,  amplified,  and  every  where  dif- 
fused, the  salvation  of  souls  procured,  and  barbarous  na- 
tions subjugated  and  made  obedient  to  the  faith.  Hence 
when  we  were  raised  by  the  divine  clemency,  though  of 
little  merit,  to  the  holy  chair  of  Peter,  knowing  you  to  be 
true  Catholic  kings  and  princes,  as  indeed  we  have  al- 
ways known  you  to  be,  and  as  you  have  also  by  your  il- 
lustrious deeds  made  yourselves  known  as  such  to  the  whole 
world;  nor  did  you  merely  desire  to  be  such,  but  you 
have  also  used  every  effort,  study,  and  diligence,  sparing 
no  fatigue,  no  cost,  no  danger,  even  shedding  your  own 
blood,  and  devoting  your  whole  soul  and  all  your  energies  to 
this  purpose,  as  your  conquest  of  the  kingdom  of  Granada 
from  the  tyranny  of  the  Saracens  in  our  days,  with  such 
glory  to  the  divine  name,  testifies  ;  we  are  induced,  not  un- 
worthily, and  we  ought,  to  grant  to  you  those  things 
favorably  and  spontaneously  by  wliicli  you  may  be  able  to 
prosecute  this  undertaking,  so  holy  and  praiseworthy  to 
the  immortal  God,  and  that  you  may  daily  increase  more 

Portuguese  those  territories  which  the  enterprising  genius  of  discov- 
ery had  tUready  given,  or  might  afterwards  give,  to  the  two  nations 
in  the  Indies  and  in  America.  The  finger  of  the  pontiff  traced  a  line 
on  the  globe,  which  the  two  nations  agreed  to  consider  as  a  sacred 
boundary,  which  ambition  should  respect  on  either  side. 

"  Nothing  more  grand  cuiild  have  been  witnessed  than  the  two  peo- 
ple thus  submitting  such  differences  as  then  existed  between  them, 
and  such  as  might  afterwards  occur,  to  the  disinterested  decision  of  the 
common  father  of  all  the  faithful,  and  so  substituting  the  most  im- 
posing arbitration  for  interminable  w:  rs.  It  was  a  great  happiness 
for  humanity  that  the  pontifical  dignity  had  yet  sufficient  influence  to 
obtain  this  remarkable  consent ;  and  the  noble  arbitration  was  so  wor- 
thy of  a  true  successor  of  St.  Peter  that  the  bull  ^  inter  cetera'  ought 
to  belong  to  another  pontiff." 


APPENDIX. 


175 


and  more  in  fervor  for  the  honor  of  God  and  the  propaga- 
tion of  the  kingdom  of  Christ. 

We  have  heard  to  our  great  joy  that  you  have  proposed 
to  labor  and  use  everv  exertion,  that  the  inhabitants  of 
certain  islands  and  continents  remote,  and  hitherto  un- 
known, and  of  others  yet  undiscovered,  be  reduced  to  wor- 
ship our  Redeemer  and  profess  the  Catholic  faith.  Till 
now  you  have  been  fully  occupied  in  the  conquest  and 
capture  of  Granada,  and  could  not  accomplish  your  holy 
and  praiseworthy  desires  nor  obtain  the  results  you 
wished.  You  sent,  not  without  the  greatest  exertions,  dan- 
gers, and  expense,  our  beloved  son  Ciiristopher  Colon,  a 
man  of  worth  and  much  to  be  commended,  fit  for  such 
business,  with  vessels  and  cargoes,  diligentl}  to  search  for 
continents  and  remote  and  unknown  islands  on  a  sea  hith- 
erto never  navigated ;  who  finally,  with  the  divine  as- 
sistance and  great  diligence,  navigated  the  vast  ocean, 
and  discovered  certain  most  distant  islands  and  continents 
which  were  previously  unknown,  in  which  very  many  na- 
tions dwell  peaceably,  and,  as  it  is  said,  go  naked  and  ab- 
stain from  animal  food,  and,  as  far  as  your  ambassadors 
can  conjecture,  believe  there  is  one  God,  Creator,  in 
heaven,  and  seem  suffioicntly  ;i.)t  to  embrace  the  Catholic 
faith,  and  might  be  imbued  vith  good  morals,  and  have 
every  reason  to  believe  that,  if  instructed,  tlie  name  of  our 
Lord  and  Savior  Jesup^  Christ  may  easily  be  established 
in  the  said  islands  and  continenis  ;  that  in  these  islands  and 
continents  already  have  been  found  gold,  spices,  and  many 
other  articles  of  value  of  different  kinds  and  qualities. 
E  very  thing  being  diligently  considered,  especially  for  the 
exaltation  and  diifusion  of  the  Catholic  faith,  (as  it  be- 
booveth  Catholic  kings  and  princes,)  according  to  the  cus- 


I  'a 
i      1 


176 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OF  AMERICA. 


torn  of  your  ancestors,  kings  of  illustrious  memory,  you 
have  proposed  to  subjugate  the  aforementioned  islands  and 
continents,  with  their  inhabitants,  to  yourselves,  with  the 
assistance  of  the  divine  goodness,  and  reduce  them  to  the 
Catholic  faith,  and  that  the  said  Christopher  Colon  may 
construct  and  build  a  fortress  on  one  of  the  principal 
islands  of  sufficient  strength  to  protect  certain  Christians 
who  may  emigrate  thither. 

We  therefore  very  much  commend  in  the  Lord  this 
your  holy  and  praiseworthy  intention ;  and  that  you  may 
bring  it  to  the  proper  end,  and  by  it  establish  the  name  of 
our  Lord  in  those  parts,  we  strenuously  exhort  you  in 
the  Lord,  and  by  your  baptism,  by  which  you  are  obli- 
gated to  the  apostolic  mandates,  and  by  the  bowels  of  the 
mercy  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  we  earnestly  exact  of  you, 
that,  when  you  undertake  and  assume  an  expedition  of  this 
kind,  you  do  it  with  a  humble  spirit,  and  with  zeal  for  the 
orthodox  faith ;  and  you  must  wish,  and  ought  to  induce, 
the  people  living  in  those  islands  and  continents  to  receive 
the  Christian  religion ;  and  let  no  dangers,  no  fatigues,  at 
any  time  deter  you,  but  entertain  hope  and  faith  that 
Almighty  God  may  crown  your  efforts  with  happy  suc- 
cess. 

To  enable  you  more  freely  and  more  boldly  to  assume 
the  undertaking  of  such  an  enterprise,  by  the  liberality  of 
our  apostolic  favor,  motu  projmo,  and  not  at  your  re- 
quest, nor  by  the  presentation  of  any  petition  to  us  on  this 
subject  for  you,  but  of  our  pure  liberality,  and  from  the 
certain  knowledge  and  plenitude  of  apostolic  power,  we 
grant  to  you  and  your  heirs,  and  your  successors,  kings  of 
Castile,  Leon,  &c.,  and  by  the  present  letters  give  for- 
ever, all  the  islands  and  continents  discovered  aod  to  be 


\ 


I 


APPENDIX. 


177 


disicovered,  exploi-ed  and  to  be  explored,  towards  the  west 
and  south,  forming  and  drawing  a  line  from  the  arctic 
pole,  that  is  the  north,  to  the  antarctic  pole,  that  is  the 
south,  whether  the  islands  or  continents  discovered  or  to 
be  discovered  lie  towards  India  or  towards  any  other  part, 
which  line  is  distant  from  one  of  the  islands  vulgarly 
called  Azores  y  Cabo  Verde  one  hundred  leagues  west 
and  south ;  so  that  all  the  islands  and  continents  discovered 
or  to  be  discovered,  explored  or  to  be  explored,  beyond  the 
aforementioned  line  towards  the  west  and  south,  not  ac- 
tually possessed  by  other  kings  or  Christian  princes  be- 
fore the  day  of  the  nativity  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
last  past,  from  which  the  present  year  1493  commences, 
when  any  of  the  said  islands  are  discovered  by  your  emis- 
saries or  captains,  we,  by  the  authority  of  Almighty  God, 
given  to  us  in  St.  Peter  as  vicar  of  Jesus  Christ,  which  au- 
thority we  exercise  on  earth,  assign  you  and  your  heirs  and 
said  successors  all  the  dominions  over  those  states,  places, 
and  towns,  with  all  rights,  jurisdiction,  and  all  their  ap- 
purtenances, with  full,  free,  and  all  power,  authority,  and 
jurisdiction.  We  make,  constitute,  and  depute,  discerning 
nevertheless  by  our  donation  concession  and  assignment 
of  this  kind,  that  the  rights  cannot  be  understood  to  be 
taken  away  from  any  Christian  prince  who  actually  pos- 
sessed such  islands  or  continents  before  the  aforementioned 
day  of  Christ's  nativity,  nor  are  to  be  deprived  of  them. 

We  moreover  command  you,  by  virtue  of  holy  obedi- 
eijce,  (as  you  have  promised,  and  we  doubt  not  from  your 
great  devotion  and  royal  magnanimity  that  you  will  do  it,) 
that  you  send  to  the  said  islands  and  continents  tried  men, 
who  fear  Gor!  learned  and  skilful,  and  expert  to  instruct 
the  inhabitants  in  the  Catholic  faith  and  teach  them  good 


hi 


i 


) 


178 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OP  AMERICA. 


morals,  using  proper  diligence  in  the  aforementioned  things 
and  we  forbid  every  one,  under  pain  of  excommunication 
ipso  factOf  no  matter  what  may  be  his  dignity,  —  even 
imperial,  royal,  — state,  order,  or  condition,  to  act  contrary  to 
this  our  mandate.  And  we  severely  forbid  any  one  to  go 
to  the  islands  or  continents  discovered  or  to  be  discovered, 
explored  or  to  be  explored,  towards  the  west  or  south,  be- 
yond the  line  drawn  from  the  arctic  to  the  antarctic  pole, 
one  hundred  leagues  from  one  of  the  islands  commonlv  called 
Azores  y  Cabo  Verde,  towards  the  west  and  south ;  and 
let  no  one,  for  trade  or  any  other  reason,  presume  to  ap- 
proach without  your  special  license  or  that  of  your  heirs 
and  successors  aforementioned,  notwithstanding  constitu- 
tions or  apostolic  ordinances,  or  any  thing  contrary  to  it ; 
trusting  God,  from  whom  empires,  and  dominations,  and 
all  good  things  proceed,  will  direct  your  actions  if  you  pros- 
ecute this  holy  and  praiseworthy  object  —  hoping  that  short- 
ly your  labors  and  efforts  may  obtain  a  most  happy  termi- 
nation, and  redound  to  the  glory  of  all  Christian  people. 

Given  at  Rome,  at  St.  Peter's,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord's 
incarnation  1493,  9th  of  May,  and  first  year  of  our  pon- 
tificate. 

Alexander. 


\\- 


\\ 


■i 

1 


•:<? 


NO.  III. 

APOSTOLIC  LETTER  OF  POPE  PAUL  III.,  A.  D.  1537, 
DECLARING  THE  AMERICAN  INDIANS  TO  BE  RA- 
TIONAL CREATURES. 

[One  of  the  reverend  fathers  of  Georgetown  College,  to  whom  I  am 
indebted  for  this  translation,  writes  me,  in  sending  it,  as  follows :  "  I 
send  you  herewith  a  literal  translation  of  it  —  I  fear  almost  too  lit- 
eral a  one.  Still  I  think  it  is  the  kind  of  translation  you  wish,  as  it 
is  as  faithful  as  possibly  could  be  made  of  the  original,  to  have  it 
any  thing  like  English.  The  historians  who  speak  of  it  improperly 
call  it  a  bull ;  it  is  only  an  '  apostolical  letter.'  Hence  I  was  not 
able  to  find  it  in  the  BuUarium.  The  only  places  in  which  it  can  be 
found,  so  far  as  I  know,  are  Torquemado's  Monarchia  Indica  and 
Clavigero's  History  of  Mexico.  The  copy  from  which  I  had  the 
accompanying  translation  made  is  from  Clavigero's  History  of 
Mexico,  English  translation,  vol.  iii.  p.  282,  where  it  is  given  in  a 
note."] 


Paul  III.,  pope,  to  all  the  faithful  of  Christ  who  shall 
see  the  present  letters,  health  and  apostolical  benedic- 
tion. 

Truth  itself,  which  can  neither  deceive  nor  be  deceived, 
when  it  appointed  the  preachers  of  faith  to  the  office  of 
preaching,  is  well  known  to  have  said,  "  Going,  teach  all 
nations."  He  said  all,  without  any  choice ;  for  all  are  capa- 
ble of  receiving  the  instruction  of  the  faith.     The  enemy 

of  mankind,  who  ever  opposes  good  unuertakings  in  order  to 

(179) 


.^'j^; 


180 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY   OP  AMERICA. 


\\ 


bring  them  to  nought,  aware  of  tliis  commission,  and  instigat- 
ed by  envy,  invented  a  method,  hitherto  unknown,  of  pre- 
venting the  word  of  God  from  being  preached  to  nations  that 
they  might  be  saved.  As  he  has  excited  some  of  his  satellites, 
who,  eagerly  desiring  to  satisfy  their  avarice,  habitually 
presume  to  assert  that  the  western  and  southern  Indians 
and  the  other  nations,  which  in  these  times  have  come  to 
our  knowledge,  under  the  pretext  that  they  were  devoid 
of  the  Catholic  faith,  should,  like  brutes,  be  brought  un- 
der our  servitude ;  and  indeed  they  are  enslaved  and 
treated  with  such  inhumanity  that  their  masters  would 
scarcely  exercise  similar  cruelty  upon  the  very  brutes  that 
serve  them:  We,  therefore,  who,  though  unworthy,  are 
the  vicegerent  of  our  Lord  upon  earth,  and  who  seek 
with  our  whole  endeavor  the  sheep  of  his  flock  intrusted 
to  us  which  are  outside  of  his  fold,  in  order  to  bring 
them  into  the  fold  itsc4f,  reflecting  that  these  Indians,  as 
true  men,  are  not  only  capable  of  the  Christian  faith,  but 
also,  as  has  been  made  known  to  us,  that  they  embrace  the 
faith  with  the  utmost  promptitude,  and  wishing  to  pro- 
vide them  with  suitable  remedies,  decree  and  declare  by 
apostolical  authority  that  the  above-mentioned  Indians  and 
all  other  nations  who  may  in  future  come  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  Christians,  though  they  be  out  of  the  faith  of 
Christ,  can  freely  and  lawfully  use,  possess,  and  enjoy 
their  liberty  and  dominion  in  that  regard,  and  that  they 
ought  not  to  be  reduced  to  slavery,  and  that  whatever 
may  otherwise  have  been  done  is  null  and  void.  More- 
over, that  those  Indians  and  other  nations  are  to  be 
invited  to  the  aforesaid  faith  of  Clirist  by  the  preach- 
ing of  the  word  of  God  and  by  the  example  of  a  good 
Ufe. 


APPENDIX. 


181 


This  decree  is  to  hold  good,  notwithstanding  any  pre- 
vious acts  and  wliatsoever  else  to  the  contrary. 

Given  at  Rome,  IV.  non.,  June,  1537,  the  third  year  of 
our  pontificate. 

16 


V 


I 


NO.  IV. 

SPANISH  FORM  OF  TAKING  POSSESSION. 

[The  Spanish  form  of  taking  possesRiion  seems  to  have  been  first  the 
form  of  prayer  r'ted  at  page  20,  and  next  a  proclamation,  substan- 
tially agreeing  with  the  following,  which  was  that  introduced  by  the 
celebrated  Alonzo  de  Ojeda.] 


I,  Alonzo  de  Ojeda,  servant  of  the  high  and  mighty 
Kings  of  Castile  and  Leon,  civilizers  of  barbarous  nations, 
their  messenger  and  captain,  notify  and  make  known  to 
you,  in  the  best  way  I  can,  that  God  our  Lord,  one  and 
eternal,  created  the  heavens  and  earth,  and  one  man  and 
one  won.an,  from  whom  you,  and  we,  and  all  the  people  of 
the  eaiLh  were  and  are  descendants,  procreated,  and  all 
those  who  shall  come  after  us ;  but  the  vast  number  of 
generations  which  have  proceeded  from  them,  in  the  course 
of  mores  than  five  thousand  years  that  have  elapsed  since 
the  creation  of  the  world,  made  it  necessary  that  some  of 
the  human  race  should  disperse  in  one  direction,  and  some 
in  another,  and  that  they  should  divide  themselves  into 
many  kingdoms  and  provinces,  as  they  could  not  sustain 
and  preserve  themselves  in  one  alone.  All  these  people 
were  given  in  charge,  by  God  our  Lord,  to  one  person, 
named  St.  Peter,  who  was  thus  made  lord  and  superior 
of  all  the  people  of  the  earth,  and  head  of  the  whole 

(18Z) 


APPKNinX. 


1S3 


liuinan  linoagc ;  whom  all  should  obey,  wherever  they  might 
live,  and  whatever  might  be  their  law,  sect,  or  belief.  1  lo 
gave  him  also  the  whole  world  for  his  service  and  juris- 
diction ;  and  though  he  desired  that  he  should  establish  his 
chair  in  Rome,  as  a  place  most  convenient  for  governing 
the  world,  yet  he  permitted  that  he  might  establish  his 
chair  in  any  other  part  of  the  world,  and  judge  and  gov- 
ern all  the  nations,  C.  ii.ins,  Moors,  Jews,  Gentiles,  and 
whatever  other  sect  .  'He}'  might  be.  This  person  was 
denominated  pope,-  to  say,  admirable,  supreme, 

father,  and  guardian, —  uccuu-e  he  is  father  and  governor 
of  all  mankind.  Tliis  lioly  father  was  obeyed  and  honored, 
as  lord,  king,  and  superior  of  the  universe,  by  those  who 
lived  in  his  time,  and  in  like  manner  have  been  obeyed 
and  honored  all  those  who  have  been  elected  to  the  pon- 
tificate ;  and  thus  it  has  continued  unto  the  present  day, 
and  will  continue  until  the  end  of  the  world. 

One  of  these  pontiffs  of  whom  I  have  spoken,  as  lord 
of  the  world,  made  a  donation  of  these  islands  and  con- 
tinents of  the  ocean  sea,  and  all  that  they  contain,  to  the 
Catholic  kings  of  Castile,  who  at  that  time  were  Ferdi- 
nand and  Isabella  of  glorious  memory,  and  to  their  succes- 
sors, our  sovereigns,  according  to  the  tenor  of  certain 
papers  drawn  up  for  the  purpose,  (which  you  may  see,  if 
you  desire.)  Thus  his  majesty  is  king  and  sovereign  of 
these  islands  and  continents  by  virtue  of  the  said  donation ; 
and,  as  king  and  sovereign,  certain  islands,  and  almost  all, 
to  whom  this  has  been  notified,  have  received  his  majesty, 
and  have  obeyed  and  served,  and  do  actually  serve  him. 
And  moreover,  like  good  subjects,  and  with  good  will, 
and  without  any  resistance  or  delay,  the  moment  they  were 
informed  of  the  foregoing,  they  obeyed  all  the  religious 


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Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  MS80 

(716)872-4303 


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184 


CATHOLIC  HISTORY  OP  AMERICA. 


Ml  ' 
t  I  I 


men  sent  among  tliem  to  preach  and  teach  our  holy  faith ; 
and  these  of  their  free  and  cheerful  will,  without  any  con- 
dition or  reward,  became  Christians,  and  continue  so  to  be. 
And  his  mjyesty  received  them  kindly  and  benignantly, 
and  ordered  that  they  should  be  treated"  like  his  other  sub- 
jects and  vassals.  You  also  are  required  and  obliged  to  do 
the  same.  Therefore,  in  the  best  manner  I  can,  I  pray 
and  entreat  you  that  you  consider  well  what  I  hare  said, 
and  that  you  take  whatever  time  is  reasonable  to  under- 
stand and  deliberate  upon  it,  and  that  you  recognize  tho 
church  for  sovereign  and  superior  of  the  universal  world, 
and  the  supreme  pontiff,  called  pope,  in  her  name,  and  his 
majesty,  in  his  place,  as  superior  and  sovereign  king  of  the 
islands  and  terra  firma  by  virtue  of  said  donation,  and 
that  you  consent  that  these  religious  fathers  declare  and  ; 
preach  to  you  the  foregoing.  And  if  you  shall  so  do,  you 
will  do  well,  and  will  do  that  to  which  you  are  bounden 
and  obliged ;  and  his  majesty,  and  I  in  his  name,  will  re- 
ceive you  with  all  due  love  and  charity,  and  will  leave  you 
your  wives  and  children  free  from  servitude,  that  you  may 

• 

freely  do  with  them  and  with  yourselves  whatever  you 
please  and  think  proper,  as  have  done  the  inhabitants  of 
the  other  islands.  And  besides  this,  his  majesty  will  give 
you  many  privileges  and  exemptions,  and  grant  you  many 
favors.  If  you  do  not  do  this,  or  wickedly  and  intention- 
ally delay  to  do  so,  I  certify  to  you  that,  by  the  aid  of 
God,  I  will  forcibly  invade  and  make  war  upon  you  in  all 
parts  and  modes  that  I  can,  and  will  subdue  you  to  the  ' 
yoke  an\  obedience  of  the  church  and  of  his  majesty;  and 
I  will  take  your  wives  and  children  and  make  slaves  of  " 
them,  and  sell  them  as  such,  and  dispose  of  them  as  his 
ms^esty  may  command ;  and  I  will  take  your  eflfects,  and 


APPENDIX. 


185 


will  do  you  all  the  harm  and  injury  in  my  power,  as  vassals 
who  will  not  obey  or  receive  their  sovereign,  and  who  re- 
sist and  oppose  him.  And  I  protest  that  the  deaths  and 
disasters  which  may  in  this  manner  be  occasioned  will  be 
the  fault  of  yourselves,  and  not  of  his  majesty,  nor  of  me, 
nor  of  these  cavaliers  who  accompany  me.  And  of  what 
I  here  tell  you,  and  require  of  you,  I  call  upon  the  notary 
here  present  to  give  me  his  signed  testimonial. 
..      16* 


11 


hi 


m 


NO.  V. 

THE  JESUITS  IN  CANADA. 

* 

[For  the  services  of  the  Jesuits  in  Canada  to  the  cause  of  Indian  civil- 
ization, before  their  suppression  by  France,  I  refer  the  reader 
to  the  following  testimonies,  gathered  together  in  Warburton's 
Conquest  of  Canada,  vol.  ii.  p.  276.] 


"  The  Jesuits  are  commonly  very  learned,  studious,  and 
are  very  civil  and  agreeable  in  company.  In  their  whole 
deportment  there  is  something  pleasing ;  it  is  no  wonder, 
therefore,  that  they  captivate  the  minds  of  the  people. 
They  seldom  speak  of  religious  matters ;  and  if  it  happens, 
they  generally  avoid  disputes.  They  are  very  ready  to  do 
any  one  a  service ;  and  when  they  see  that  their  assistance 
is  wanted,  they  hardly  give  one  time  to  speak  of  it,  falling 
to  work  inimediately  to  bring  about  what  is  required  of 
them.  Their  conversation  is  very  entertaining  and  learned, 
so  that  one  cannot  be  tired  of  their  company.  Among  r  ■! 
the  Jesuits  I  have  conversed  with  in  Canada,  I  have  c 
found  one  who  was  not  possessed  of  these  qualities  in  a 
very  eminent  degree.  They  do  not  care  to  become 
preachers  to  a  congregation  in  the  town  or  country,  but 
leave  these  places,  together  with  the  emoluments  arising 
from  them,  to  the  priests.  All  their  business  here  is  to 
convert  the  heathen ;  and  with  that  view  their  missionaries 

(186) 


\v 


m 


APPENDIX. 


187 


are  scattered  over  every  part  of  the  country.     Near  every 
town  and  village  peopled  by  converted  Indians  are  one  or 
two  Jesuits,  who  take  great  care  that  they  may  not  return 
to  paganism,  but  live  as  Christians  ought  to  do.     Thus 
there  are  Jesuits  with  the  converted  Indians  in  Tadoussac, 
Lorette,  Be9ancourt,  St.  Franpois,  Sault  St.  Louis,  and  all 
over   Canada.     Tiiere   are  likewise  Jesuit    missionaries 
with  those  who  are  not  converted,  so  that  there  is  com- 
monly a  Jesuit  in  every  village  belonging  to  the  Indians, 
whom  he  endeavors  on  all  occasions  to  convert.     In  winter 
he  goci  on  their  great  hunts,  where  he  is  frequently  obliged 
to  suffer  all  imaginable  inconveniences,  such  as  walking 
in  the  snow  all  day,  lying  in  the  open  air  all  winter,  lying 
out  both  in  good  and  bad  weather,  lying  in  the   Indian 
huts,  which  swarm  with  fleas  and  other  vermin,  &;c.     The 
Jesuits  undergo  all  these  hardships  for  the  sake  of  convert- 
ing the  Indians,  and  likewise  for  political  reasons.     The 
Jesuits  are  of  great  use  to  their  king ;  for  they  are  fre- 
quently able  to  persuade  the  Indians  to  break  their  treaty 
with  the  English,  to  make  war  upon  them,  to  bring  their 
furs  to  the  French,  and  not  to  permit  the  English  to  come 
among  them.     There  is  much  danger  attending  thcoc  ex- 
ertions ;  for,  when  the  Indians  are  in  liquor,  they  some- 
times kill  the  missionaries  who  live  with  them,  calling 
them  spies,  or  excusing  themselves  by  saying  that  the 
brandy  had  killed  them.     These  are  the  chief  occupations 
of  the  Jesuits  in  Canada.     They  do  not  go  to  visit  the  sick 
in  the  town ;  they  do  not  hear  the  confessions,  and  attend 
to  no  funerals.     I  have  never  seen  them  go  in  procession 
in  honor  of  the  Virgin  Mary  or  other  saints.     Everybody 
sees  they  are,  as  it  wex'e,  selected  from  other  people  on  ac- 
count of  their  superior  genius  and  abilities.     They  are 


188 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OP  AMERICA. 


here  reckoned  a  most  cunning  set  of  people,  who  general- 
ly succeed  in  their  undertakings,  and  surpass  all  others  in 
acuteness  of  understanding.  I  have  therefore  several 
times  observed  that  they  have  enemies  in  Canada.  They 
never  receive  any  others  into  their  society  but  persons  of 
very  promising  parts,  so  that  there  are  no  blockheads 
among  them.  The  Jesuits  who  live  here  are  all  come 
from  France,-and  many  of  them  return  thither  again  after 
a  stay  of  a  few  years  here.  Some  who  were  born  in  Can- 
ada went  over  to  France,  and  were  received  among  the 
Jesuits  there,  but  none  of  them  ever  came  back  to  Cana- 
da. I  know  not  what  political  reason  hindered  them. 
During  my  stay  in  Quebec,  one  of  the  priests,  with  the 
bishop's  leave,  gave  up  his  priesthood  and  became  a  Jesu- 
it. The  other  priests  were  very  ill  pleased  with  this,  be- 
cause it  seemed  as  if  he  looked  upon  their  condition  as 
too  mean  for  himself."  —  Kalmy  in  PinkertoUf  vol.  xiii.  p. 
648. 

"  The  RecoUets  are  a  third  class  of  clergymen  in  Can- 
ada. They  have  a  fine  large  dwelling  house  here,  and  a 
fine  church  where  they  ofiiciate.  Near  it  is  a  large  and 
fine  garden,  which  they  cultivate  with  great  application. 

"  In  Montreal  and  Trois  Rivieres  they  are  lodged  in  al- 
most the  same  manner  as  here.  They  do  not  endeavor  to 
choose  cunning  fellows  among  them,  but  take  all  they  can 
get.  They  do  not  torment  their  brains  with  much  learn- 
ing ;  and  I  have  been  assured  that,  after  they  have  put  on 
their  monastic  habit,  they  do  not  study  to  increase  their 
knowledge,  but  forget  even  what  little  they  knew  before. 
At  night  they  generally  lie  on  mats,  or  some  other  hard 
mattresses.  However,  I  have  sometimes  seen  good  beds 
in  the  cells  of  some  of  them.    They  have  no  possessions 


■t , 


U 


<• 


APPENDIX. 


189 


here,  having  made  vows  of  poverty,  and  live  chiefly  on  the 
alms  which  people  give  them.  To  this  purpose  the  young 
monks,  or  brothers,  go  into  the  houses  with  a  bag,  and  beg 
what  they  want.  They  have  no  congregation  in  the 
country,  but  sometimes  they  go  among  the  Indians  as  mis- 
sionaries. 

"  In  each  fore,  which  contains  forty  men,  the  king  keeps 
one  of  these  monks  instead  of  a  priest,  who  officiates  there. 
The  king  gives  him  lodging,  provisions,  servants,  and  all 
he  wants,  besides  two  hundred  livres  a  year.  Half  of  it 
he  sends  to  the  community  he  belongs  to ;  the  other  half 
he  reserves  for  his  own  use.  On  board  the  king's  ships 
are  generally  no  other  priests  than  these  friars,  who  are 
therefore  looked  upon  as  people  belonging  to  the  king. 
When  one  of  the  chief  priests  *  in  the  country  dies,  and 
his  place  cannot  immediately  be  filled  up,  they  send  one 
of  these  friars  there  to  officiate  while  the  place  is  vacant. 
Part  of  these  monks  come  over  from  France,  and  part  are 
natives  of  Canada. 

"There  are  no  other  monks  in  Canada  besides  these, 
except  now  and  then  one  of  the  order  of  St.  Austin,  or 
other  who  comes  with  one  of  the  king's  ships,  but  goes  off 
with  it  again.  .       • 

"  The  priests  are  the  second  and  most  numerous  class  of 
the  clergy  in  this  country ;  for  most  of  the  churches,  both 
in  towns  and  villages,  (the  Indian  converts  excepted,)  are 
served  by  priests.  A  few  of  them  are  likewise  mission- 
aries. In  Canada  are  two  seminaries :  one  in  Quebec,  the 
other  in  Montreal.  The  priests  of  the  seminary  of  Mon- 
treal are  of  the  order  of  St.  Sulpitius,  and  supply  only  the 


•  Pasteur. 


.4 


190 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OP  AMERICA. 


congregation  on  the  Isle  of  Montreal  and  the  town  of  the 
same  name.  At  all  the  other  churches  in  Canada  the 
priests  belonging  to  the  Quebec  seminary  officiate.  The 
former,  or  those  of  the  order  of  St.  Sulpitius,  all  come 
from  France ;  and  I  was  assured  that  they  never  suffer  a 
native  of  Canada  to  come  among  them. 

"  In  the  seminary  at  Quebec,  the  natives  of  Canada 
make  the  greater  part. 

"  In  order  to  fit  the  children  of  this  country  for  orders, 
there  are  schools  at  Quebec  and  St.  Joachim,  where  the 
youths  are  taught  Latin,  and  instructed  in  the  knowledge 
of  those  things  and  sciences  which  have  a  more  immediate 
connection  with  the  business  they  are  intended  for. 

"  However,  they  are  not  very  nice  in  their  choice,  and 
people  of  a  middling  capacity  are  often  received  among 
them. 

"They  do  not  seem  to  have  made  great  progress  in 
Latin ;  for,  notwithstanding  the  service  is  read  in  that 
language,  and  they  read  their  Latin  breviary  and  other 
books  every  day,  yet  most  of  them  find  it  very  difficult  to 
speak  it.  .. 

"All  the  priests  in  the  Quebec  seminary  are  conse- 
crated by  the  bishop.  Both  the  seminaries  have  got  great 
revenues  from  the  king ;  that  in  Quebec  has  above  thirty 
thousand  livres.  All  the  country  on  the  west  side  of  the 
River  St.  Lawrence,  from  the  town  of  Quebec  to  Bay  St. 
Paul,  belongs  to  this  seminary,  besides  their  other  posses- 
sions in  the  country.  They  lease  the  land  to  the  settlers 
for  a  certain  rent,  which  if  it  be  annually  paid  according 
to  their  agreement,  the  children  or  heirs  of  the  settlera 
may  remain  in  an  undisturbed  possession  of  the  lands. 


W 


I' I 


ii 


^^k 


APPENDIX. 


191 


"  A  piece  of  land  three  ai*pent9  *  broad,  and  thirty, 
forty,  or  fifty  arpents  long,  pays  annually  an  ecu,t  and  a 
couple  of  chickens,  or  some  other  additional  trille.  In 
such  places  as  have  convenient  waterfalls  they  have  built 
waterraills  or  sawmills,  from  which  they  annually  get 
considerable  sums.  The  seminary  of  Montreal  possesses 
the  whole  ground  on  which  that  town  stands,  together  with 
the  whole  Isle  of  Montreal.  1  have  been  assured  that  the 
ground  rent  of  the  town  and  isle  is  computed  at  seventy 
thousand  livres,  besides  what  they  get  for  saying  masses, 
baptizing,  holding  confessions,  attending  at  marriages  and 
funerals,  &c.  All  the  revenues  of  ground  rent  belong  to 
the  seminaries  alone,  and  the  priests  in  the  country  have 
no  share  in  them.  But  the  seminary  in  Montreal,  consist- 
ing only  of  sixteen  priests,  has  greater  revenues  than  it 
can  expend ;  a  large  sum  of  money  is  annually  sent  over 
to  France  to  the  chief  seminary  there.  The  land  rents 
belonging  to  the  Quebec  seminary  are  employed  for  the 
use  of  the  priests  in  it,  and  for  the  maintenance  of  a  num- 
ber of  young  people  who  are  brought  up  to  take  orders. 
The  priests  who  live  in  the  country  parishes  get  the  tithe 
from  their  congregation,  together  with  the  perquisites  on 
visiting  the  sick,  &;c.  In  small  congregations,  the  king 
gives  the  priests  an  additional  sum.  When  a  priest  in  the 
country  grows  old,  and  has  done  good  service,  he  is  some- 
times allowed  to  come  into  the  seminary  in  town.  The 
seminaries  are  allowed  to  place  the  priests  on  their  own 
estates,  but  the  other  places  are  in  the  gift  of  the  bishop." 
—  Ibid. 


i 


*  A  French  acre. 

t  A  French  coin,  value  about  a  crown  English. 


192 


CATHOLIC  HISTORY  OF  AMERICA. 


"  After  the  conquest  of  Quebec,  the  British  government 
prohibited  the  religious  male  orders  from  augmenting  their 
numbers,  excepting  the  priests.  The  orders  were  allowed 
to  enjoy  the  whole  of  their  revenues  as  long  as  a  single  in- 
dividual of  the  body  existed;  then  they  reverted  to  the 
crown.  The  revenue  of  the  Jesuit  Society  was  upward 
of  twelve  thousand  pounds  per  annum  when  it  fell  into 
the  possession  of  the  government.  It  had  been  for  sev- 
eral years  enjoyed  solely  by  an  old  father,  who  had  sur- 
vived all  the  rest.  He  was  a  native  of  Switzerland ;  his 
name,  Jean  Joseph  Casot.  In  his  youth  he  was  no  more 
than  porter  to  the  convent ;  but,  having  considerable  merit, 
he  was  promoted,  and  in  course  of  time  received  into  the 
order.  He  died  at  a  very  advanced  age,  in  1800,  with  a 
high  character  for  kindness  and  generosity :  his  large  in- 
come was  entirely  employed  in  charitable  purposes.  The 
lands  belonging  to  the  Jesuits,  as  well  as  to  the  other  re- 
ligious orders,  are  by  far  the  best  in  the  country,  and  pro- 
duce the  greatest  revenues."  —  Lamherfs  Travels  in  Can- 
ada,  vol.  i.  p.  59. 

"  The  Jesuits,  who  in  the  early  settlement  of  the  coun- 
try were  merely  missionaries,  obtained  a  patent  (Petits 
Droits  des  Colonies  Franpaises,  vol.  ii.  p.  441)  by  which 
they  acquired  a  license  to  purchase  lands  and  hold  prop- 
erty as  in  France.  The  property  the  Jesuits  possessed  in 
this  country  in  after  times  was  acquired  by  grants  from  the 
kings  of  France ;  by  grants  from  the  Company  of  New 
France ;  by  gifts  from  individuals ;  and  by  purchase."  — 
Smith's  History  of  Canada^  vol.  i.  p.  27 ;  Weld,  p.  249. 
Smith  estimates  the  revenues  of  the  society,  when,  after 
P.  Casot's  death,  they  reverted  to  the  crown,  at  only  six- 
teen hundred  pounds  per  annum.     Weld  comes  nearer  to 


APPENDIX. 


193 


the  statement  of  Lambert.  lie  visited  Quebec  in  1796, 
four  years  before  P.  Cnsot's  death,  and  states  that  the 
great  possessions  of  the  Jesuits  had  centred  in  him,  and 
amounted  to  ten  thousand  pounds  per  annum.  It  is  to  be 
remembered  that  in  1704  the  order  of  Jesuits  was  abol- 
ished by  the  King  of  France,  and  the  members  of  the  so- 
ciety became  private  individuals. 

"  The  college  of  the  Jesuits  at  Quebec  was  long  con- 
sidered as  the  first  institution  on  the  continent  of  North 
Americap  for  the  instruction  of  young  men.  The  advan- 
tages derived  from  it  were  not  limited  to  the  better  class 
of  Canadians,  but  were  extended  to  all  whose  inclination 
it  was  to  participate  in  them ;  and  many  students  came 
thither  from  the  West  Indies.  From  the  period  of  the 
expulsion  of  the  Jesuits  from  the  states  of  Europe,  and 
the  consequent  abolition  of  their  order  on  that  continent, 
this  establishment,  although  protected  by  the  British  gov- 
ernment, began  rapidly  to  decline. 

"  When,  by  the  death  of  the  last  Canadian  Jesuit,  the 
landed  property  devolved  to  the  crown,  it  was  designed 
by  the  sovereign  as  a  recompense  for  the  services  of  the 
late  Lord  Amherst,  who  commanded  the  troops  in  North 
America  at  the  time  of  the  conquest  of  Canada,  and  who 
completed  the  reduction  of  that  province  under  the  British 
government.  The  claim  of  these  estates  has  been  olin- 
quished  by  his  successor  fop  a  pension.  The  revenue 
arising  from  them  has  been  appropriated  by  the  legisla- 
ture of  Lower  Canada  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  in 
the  different  parishes  schools  for  the  education  of  children. 
The  Jesuits'  college  is  now  converted  into  a  commodious 
barrack  for  the  troops."  —  Heriot's  Canada,  p.  30. 

17 


i 


m 


I 


V         • 


I.I 


NO.  VL 

ADDRESS  OP  THE  ROMAN  CATHOLICS  OF  AMERICA 
TO  GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  AND  IHS  REPLY. 

[After  Washington's  accession  to  the  presidency,  the  corporate  bodies, 
ciTil  societies,  &c.,  presented  him  addresses  of  congratulation.  For 
the  following  address  and  reply,  we  are  indebted  to  Benjamin  Rus- 
lell's  Legaciea  of  Waahimjton,  (Boston,  1801 ;)  also  to  Sparks's  Lifo 
and  Writinga  of  Waahitigton,  vol.  xii.] 


I  1 


Sir  :  We  have  been  long  impatient  to  testify  our  joy 
and  unbounded  confidence  on  your  being  called,  by  a 
unanimous  vote,  to  the  first  station  of  a  country  in  which 
that  unanimity  could  not  have  been  obtained  without  the 
previous  merit  of  unexampled  services,  of  eminent  wisdom, 
and  unblemished  virtue.  Our  congratulations  have  not 
reached  you  sooner,  because  our  scattered  situation  pre- 
vented the  communication  and  the  collecting  of  those 
sentiments  which  warmed  every  breast.  But  the  delay  has 
furnished  us  with  the  opportunity,  not  merely  of  presaging 
the  happiness  to  be  expected  under  your  administration, 
but  of  bearing  testimony  to  that  which  we  experience. 
It  is  your  peculiar  talent,  in  war  and  in  peace,  to  afford 
security  to  those  who  commit  their  protection  into  your 
hands.  In  war  you  shield  them  from  the  ravages  of 
armed  hostility ;  in  peace  you  establish  public  tranquillity 

(194) 


APPENDIX. 


105 


by  the  justice  and  moderation,  not  less  than  by  the  vigor, 
of  your  government.  By  example,  as  well  as  by  vigi- 
lance, you  extend  the  influence  of  laws  on  the  manners  of 
our  fellow-citizens.  You  encourage  respect  for  religion, 
and  inculcate,  by  words  and  actions,  that  principle  on 
which  the  welfare  of  nations  so  much  depends  — that  a  su- 
perintending Providence  governs  the  events  of  the  world 
and  watches  over  the  conduct  of  men.  Your  exalted 
maxims  and  unwearied  attention  to  the  moral  and  physi- 
cal improvement  of  our  country  have  produced  already 
the  happiest  effects.  Under  your  administration,  America 
is  animated  with  zeal  for  the  attainment  and  encourage- 
ment of  useful  literature ;  she  improves  agriculture,  ex- 
tends her  commerce,  and  acquires  with  foreign  nations  a 
dignity  unknown  to  her  before.  From  these  happy  events, 
in  which  none  can  feel  a  warmer  interest  than  ourselves, 
we  derive  additional  pleasure  by  recollecting  that  you, 
sir,  have  been  the  principal  instrument  to  effect  so  rapid  a 
change  in  our  political  situation.  This  prospect  of  national 
prosperity  is  peculiarly  pleasing  to  us  on  another  account ; 
because,  whilst  onr  country  preserves  her  freedom  and  in- 
dependence, we  shall  have  a  well-founded  title  to  claim 
from  her  justice  the  equal  rights  of  citizenship,  as  the 
price  of  our  blood  spilt  under  your  eyes,  and  of  our  com- 
mon exertions  for  her  defence,  under  your  auspicious 
conduct  —  rights  rendered  more  dear  to  us  by  the  remem- 
brance of  former  hardships.  When  we  pray  lor  the  preser- 
vation of  them  where  they  have  been  granted,  and  expect 
the  full  extension  of  them  from  the  justice  of  those  states 
which  still  restrict  them,  when  we  solicit  the  protection 
of  Heaven  over  our  common  country,  we  neither  admit, 
nor  can  omit,  recommending  your  preservation  to  the  singu- 


I  I     \ 


I 


V. 


196 


CATHOLIC  HISTORY  OF  AMERICA. 


lar  care  of  divine  Providence,  because  we  conceive  that 
no  human  means  are  so  available  to  promote  the  welfare 
of  the  United  States  as  the  prolongation  of  your  health 
and  life,  in  which  are  included  the  energy  of  your  exam- 
ple, the  wisdom  of  your  counsels,  and  the  persuasive  elo- 
quence of  your  virtues. 
In  behalf  of  the  Roman  Catholic  clergy, 

J.  Carroll. 

In  behalf  of  the  Roman  Catholic  laity, 

Charles  Carroll,  of  Carrollton, 
,1  Daniel  Carroll, 

•  f'         Thomas  FiTzsiMMONS,     ■ 
DoMiNicK  Lynch. 

To  which  Washington  returned  an  answer  as  follows :  — 


THE  ANSWER  TO  THE  ROMAN  CATHOLICS  IN  THE 
.  UNITED   STATES  OF  AMERICA. 

Gentlemen  '.  While  I  now  receive  with  much  satisfac- 
tion your  congratulations  on  my  being  called  by  a  unan- 
imous vote  to  the  first  station  of  my  country,  I  cannot  but 
duly  notice  your  politeness  in  offering  an  apology  for  the 
unavoidable  delay.  As  that  delay  has  given  you  an  op- 
portunity of  realizing,  instead  of  anticipating,  the  benefits 
of  the  general  government,  you  will  do  me  the  justice  to 
believe  that  your  testimony  of  the  increase  of  the  public 
prosperity  enhances  the  pleasure  which  I  would  otherwise 
have  experienced  from  your  affectionate  address. 

I  feel  that  my  conduct,  in  war  and  in  peace,  has  met 
with  more  general  approbation  than  could  reasonably  have 


\\ 


APPENDIX. 


t  f 


197 


been  expected;  and  I  find  mjself  disposed  to  consider 
that  fortunate  circumstance  in  a  great  degree  resultinor 
from  the  able  support  and  extraordinary  candor  of  my  fel- 
low-citizens of  all  denominations. 

The  prospect  of  national  pi-osjlerity  now  before  us  is 
truly  animating,  and  ought  to  excite  the  exertions  of  all 
good  men  to  establish  and  secure  the  happiness  of  their 
country  in  the  permanent  duration  of  its  freedom  and 
independence.  America,  under  the  smiles  of  a  divine 
Providence,  the  protection  of  a  good  government,  and  the 
cultivation  of  manners,  morals,  and  piety,  cannot  fail  of 
attaining  an  uncommon  degree  of  eminence  in  literature, 
commerce,  agriculture,  improvements  at  home,  and  respect- 
ability abroad. 

As  mankind  become  more  liberal,  they  will  be  more 
apt  to  allow  that  all  those  who  conduct  themselves  as  wor- 
thy members  of  the  ci^rrimunity  sire  equally  entitled  to  the 
protection  of  civil  go^  ernment.  I  hope  ever  to  see  Amer- 
ica among  the  foremost  nations  in  examples  of  justice  and 
liberality;  and  I  presume  that  your  fellow-citizens  will 
not  forget  the  patriotic  part  which  you  took  in  the  accom- 
plishment of  their  revolution  and  the  establishment  of 
their  government,  or  the  important  assistance  which  they 
received  from  a  nation  in  wliich  the  Roman  Catholic  faith 
is  professed.      ^^ 

I  thank  you,  gentlemen,  for  your  kind  concern  for  me. 
While  my  life  and  my  health  shall  continue,  in  whatever 
situation  I  may  be,  it  shall  be  my  constant  endeavor  to  jus- 
tify the  favorable  sentiments  which  you  are  pleased  to  ex- 
press of  my  conduct ;  and  may  the  membei-s  of  your  so- 
ciety in  America,  animated  alone  by  the  pure  spirit  of 

17'* 


198 


CATHOLIC  HISTORY  OF  AMERICA. 


Christianity,  and  still  conducting  themselves  as  the  faithful 
subjects  of  our  free  government,  enjoy  every  temporal  and 
spiritual  felicity. 

G.  "Washington. 


(..;»;,: 


f 


IW- 


m'i 


1 


NO.  VII. 


AN  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  BLESSED  CATHARINE  TE- 
GAHKOUITA,  ILLUSTRATING  THE  INFLUENCE  OP 
CHRISTIANITY  ON  THE  DOMESTIC  LIFE  OF  OUR 
INDIANS.  ■:.:  ,:-■ 


The  marvels  which  God  is  working  every  day,  through 
the  intercession  of  a  young  Iroquois  female  who  has  lived 
and  died  among  us  in  the  odor  of  sanctity,  have  induced 
me  to  inform  you  of  the  particulars  of  her  life,  although 
you  have  not  pressed  me  in  your  letters  to  enter  into  de- 
tail. You  have  yourself  been  a  witness  of  these  marvels 
when  you  discharged  there  with  so  much  zeal  the  duties 
of  a  missionary ;  and  you  know  that  the  high  prelate  who 
governs  this  church,  touched  by  the  prodigies  with  which 
God  has  deigned  to  honor  the  memory  of  this  holy  maiden, 
has  with  reason  called  her  the  Genevieve  of  New  France. 
All  the  French  who  are  in  the  colonies,  as  well  as  the  In- 
dians, hold  her  in  singular  veneration.  They  come  from 
a  great  distance  to  pray  at  her  tomb ;  and  many,  by  her 
intercession,  have  been  immediately  cured  of  their  mala- 
dies, and  have  received  from  Heaven  other  extraor- 
dinary favors.  I  will  write  you  nothing,  my  reverend 
father,  which  I  have   not  myself  seen   during  the  time 

she  was  under  my  care,  or  which  I  have  not  learned 

(199) 


200 


{■_ 


CATHOLIC  HISTORY  OF  AMERICA. 


of  the  missionary  M'ho  conferred  on  her  the  rite  of  holy 
baptism. 

Tegahkouita  (which  is  the  name  of  this  sainted  female 
about  whom  I  am  going  to  inform  you)  was  born  in  the 
year  1656,  at  Gandaouague,  one  of  the  settlements  of  the 
lower  Iroquois,  who  are  called  Agniez.  Her  father  was 
an  Iroquois  and  a  heathen  ;  her  mother,  who  was  a  Chris- 
tian, was  an  Algonquin,  and  had  been  baptized  at  the 
village  of  Trois  Rivieres,  where  she  was  brought  up  among 
the  French.  During  the  time  that  we  were  at  war  with 
the  Iroquois  she  was  taken  prisoner  by  these  Indians,  and 
remained  a  captive  in  their  country.  We  have  since 
learned  that  thus,  in  the  very  bosom  of  heathenism,  she 
preserved  her  faith  even  to  her  death.  By  her  marriage 
she  had  two  children,  one  son  and  one  daughter,  the  latter 
of  whom  is  the  subject  of  this  nan*ative,  but  she  had  the 
pain  to  die  without  having  been  able  to  procure  for  them 
the  grace  of  baptism.  The  small  pox,  which  ravaged  the 
Iroquois  country,  in  a  few  days  removed  her  husband,  her 
son,  and  herself.  Tegahkouita  was  also  attacked  like  the 
others,  but  she  did  not  sink  as  they  did  under  the  violence 
of  the  disease.  Thus,  at  the  age  of  four  years,  she  found 
herself  an  orphan,  under  the  care  of  her  aunts,  and  in 
the  power  of  an  uncle  who  was  the  leading  man  in  the 
settlement. 

The  small  pox  had  injured  her  eyes ;  and  this  infirmity 
having  rendered  her  incapable  of  enduring  the  glare  of 
light,  she  remained  during  whole  days  shut  up  in  her  wig- 
wam. By  degrees  she  began  to  love  this  seclusion,  and  at 
length  that  became  her  taste  which  she  had  at  first  endured 
only  from  necessity.  This  inclination  for  retirement,  so 
contrary  to  the  usual  spirit  of  the  young  Iroquois,  was  the 


■A' 


APPENDIX. 


201 


principal  cause  of  her  preserving  her  innocence  of  life 
while  living  in  such  scenes  of  corruption. 

When  she  was  a  little  older,  she  occupied  herself  at 
home  in  rendering  to  her  aunts  all  those  services  of  which 
she  was  capable,  and  which  *were  in  accordance  with  her 
sex.  She  ground  the  com,  went  in  search  of  water,  and 
carried  the  wood ;  for  such,  among  these  Indians,  are  the 
ordinary  employments  of  females.  The  rest  of  her  time 
she  spent  in  the  manufacture  of  little  articles,  for  which 
she  possessed  an  extraordinary  skill.  By  this  means  she 
avoided  two  rocks  which  would  have  been  equally  fatal  to 
her  innocence  —  idleness,  so  common  there  among  her 
own  sex,  and  which  is  the  source  of  an  infinite  number  of 
vices ;  and  the  extreme  passion  they  have  to  spend  their 
time  in  gossiping  visits,  and  to  show  themselves  in  public 
places  where  they  can-  display  their  finery ;  for  it  is  not 
necessary  to  believe  that  this  kind  of  vanity  is  confined  to 
civilized  nations.  The  females  of  our  Indians,  and  espe- 
cially the  young  girls,  have  a  great  taste  for  parading  their 
ornaments,  some  of  which  they  esteem  very  precious. 
Their  finery  consists  of  cloths  which  they  buy  of  the  Eu- 
ropeans, mantles  of  fur,  and  different  kinds  of  shells,  with 
which  they  cover  themselves  from  head  to  foot  They 
have  also  bracelets,  and  collars,  and  pendants  for  the  ears, 
and  belts.  They  adorn  even  their  moccasons,  for  these 
personal  ornaments  constitute  all  their  riches ;  and  it  is  in 
this  way,  by  the  different  kinds  of  garments,  that  they 
mai'k  their  rank  among  themselves.  ' 

The  young  Tegahkouita  had  naturally  a  distaste  for  all 
this  finery,  which  was  appropriate  to  her.sex ;  but  she  could 
not  oppose  the  persons  who  stood  to  her  in  the  place  of 
father  and  mother ;  and  to  please  them,  she  had  sometimea 


m 


n 
I 


I, 


202 


CATHOLIC  HISTORY  OP  AMERICA. 


i 


recourse  to  these  vain  ornaments.  But  after  she  became 
a  Christian  she  looked  back  upon  it  as  a  great  sin,  and 
expiated  this  compliance  of  which  she  had  been  guilty  by 
a  severe  penance  and  almost  continual  tears. 

M.  de  Thracy,  having  been  sent  by  the  government  to 
bring  to  reason  the  Iroquois  nations  who  laid  waste  our 
colonies,  carried  the  war  into  their  country,  and  burned 
three  villages  of  the  Agniez.  This  expedition  spread 
terror  among  the  Indians,  and  they  acceded  to  the  terms 
of  peace  which  were  offered  them.  Their  deputies  were 
well  received  by  the  French,  and  a  peace  concluded  to  the 
advantage  of  both  nations. 

We  availed  ourselves  of  this  occasion,  which  seemed  a 
favorable  one,  to  send  missionaries  to  the  Iroquois.  They 
had  already  gained  some  smattering  of  the  gospel,  which 
had  been  preached  to  them  by  Father  Jogues,  and  partic- 
ularly those  of  Onnontague,  among  whom  this  father  had 
fixed  his  residence.  It  is  well  known  that  this  missionary 
received  there  that  recompense  of  martyrdom  which  well 
befitted  his  zeal.  The  Indians  at  first  held  him  in  a  severe 
captivity  and  mutilated  his  fingers,  and  it  was  only  by  a 
kind  of  miracle  that  he  was  able  for  a  time  to  escape  their 
fury.  It  seemed,  however,  that  his  blood  was  destined  to 
be  the  seed  of  Christianity  in  that  heathen  land ;  for,  having 
had  the  courage,  in  the  following  year,  to  return  for  the 
purpose  of  continuing  his  mission  among  these  people  who 
had  treated  him  so  inhumanly,  he  finished  his  apostolic 
career  amid  the  torments  they  forced  him  to  endure.* 


. 


.  *  The  history  of  Father  Isaac  Jogues  is  full  of  romantic  interest. 
He  was  the  first  to  carry  the  cross  into  Michigan  and  among  the  yil« 
lages  of  the  Mohawks.  On  his  return  from  the  Falls  of  St.  Mary, 
escorted  by  some  Huron  braves,  they  were  taken  by  a  war  party  of  the 


m 


t  . 


APPENDIX. 


203 


The  works  of  his  two  companions  were  crowned  hy  the 
'game  kind  of  death ;  and  it  is  without  doubt  to  the  blood 
of  these  first  apostles  of  the  Iroquois  nation  that  we  must 
ascribe  the  blessings  which  God  poured  out  on  the  zeal 
of  those  who  succeeded  them  in  this  evangelical  ministry. 
The  Father  Fremin,  the  Father  Bruyas,  and  the  Father 
Pierron,  who  knew  the  language  of  the  country,  were 
chosen  to  accompany  the  Iroquois  deputies,  and  on  the 
part  of  the  French  to  confirm  the  peace  which  had  been 
granted  them.  They  committed  also  ^P  the  missionaries 
the  presents  which  the  governor  made,  that  it  might  facili- 
tate their  entrance  into  these  barbarous  regions.  They 
happened  to  arrive  there  at  a  time  when  these  people  are 
accustomed  to  plunge  into  all  kinds  of  debauchery,  and 
found  no  one,  therefore,  in  a  fit  state  to  receive  them.  This 
unseasonable  period,  however,  procured  for  the  young  Te- 
gahkouita  the  advantage  of  knowing  early  those  of  whom 
God  wished  to  make  use  to  conduct  her  to  the  highest 
degree  of  perfection.     She  was  charged  with  the  task  of 


Mohawks.  His  companions  were  all  put  to  death  with  the  usual  at- 
tendants of  savage  cruelty,  but  not  before  Jogues  had  baptized  two  of 
them,  who  were  neophytes,  with  some  drops  of  water  he  found  cling- 
ing to  the  broad  blade  of  an  ear  of  Indian  corn  they  had  thrown  to 
him.  After  suffering  every  cruelty,  and  being  obliged  to  run  the  gant- 
let through  three  villages,  he  was,  in  1642,  ransomed  by  the  Dutch  at 
Albany  and  set  at  liberty.  He  then  sailed  for  France,  to  obtain  per- 
mission from  the  pope  to  celebrate  the  divine  mysteries  with  his  mu- 
tilated hands.  The  pope  granted  his  prayer,  saying,  "  Indignum  esset 
Christi  martyrum  Christi  non  libere  sanguinem."  On  his  return  to 
the  Mohawks  for  the  second  time,  he  was  at  once  received  as  a  pris- 
oner and  condemned  to  death  as  an  enchanter.  He  approached  the 
cabin  where  the  death  festival  was  kept,  and,  as  he  entered,  received 
the  deathblow.  His  head  was  hung  upon  the  palisades  of  the  village, 
and  h?3  body  thrown  into  the  Mohawk  River.  —  Bancroft,  vol.  iii.  p.  138. 


-I 


204 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY   OP  AMERICA. 


H- 


ii 


!i 


lodging  the  missionaries  and  attending  to  their  wants. 
The  modesty  and  sweetness  with  which  she  acquitted  her- 
self of  this  duty  touched  her  new  guests ;  while  she  on  her 
part  was  struck  with  their  affable  manners,  their  regularity 
in  prayer,  and  the  other  exercises  into  which  they  divided 
the  day.  God  even  then  disposed  her  to  the  grace  of  bap- 
tism, which  she  would  have  requested  if  the  missionaries 
had  remained  longer  in  her  village.  -^   ;      < 

The  third  day  after  their  arrival  they  were  sent  for  to 
Tionnontoquen,  where  their  reception  was  to  take  place : 
it  was  very  pompous.  Two  of  the  missionaries  established 
themselves  in  this  village,  while  the  third  commenced  a 
mission  in  the  village  of  Onneiout,  which  is  more  than 
thirty  leagues  distant  in  the  country.  The  next  year  they 
formed  a  third  mission  at  Annontague.  The  fourth  was 
established  at  Tsonnontouan,  and  the  fifth  at  the  village  of 
Goiogoen.  The  natives  of  the  Agniez  and  the  Tsonnon- 
touans  are  very  numerous,  and  separated  in  many  different 
villages,  which  is  the  reason  why  they  were  obliged  to  in- 
crease the  number  of  the  missionaries. 

At  length  Tegahkouita  became  of  a  marriageable  age, 
and  her  relations  were  anxious  to  find  a  husband  for  her ; 
because,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  country,  the  game 
which  the  husband  kills  in  the  chase  is  appropriated  to 
the  benefit  of  his  wife  and  the  other  members,  of  her  fam- 
ily. But  the  young  Iroquois  had  inclinations  very  much 
opposed  to  the  designs  of  her  relations.  She  had  a  great 
love  of  purity  even  before  she  knew  the  excellence  of  this 
virtue,  and  any  thing  which  could  soil  it  ever  so  little  im- 
pressed her  with  horror.  When,  therefore,  they  proposed 
to  establish  her  in  life,  she  excused  herself  under  different 
pretexts,  alleging  above  all  her  extreme  youth,  and  the  lit- 
tle inclination  she  had  to  enter  into  marriage. 


'* 


>l 


APPENDIX. 


205 


The  relatives  seemed  to  approve  of  these  reasons ;  but 
a  little  while  after  they  resolved  to  betroth  her  when  she 
least  expected  it,  and  without  even  allowing  her  a  choice 
in  the  person  to  whom  she  was  to  be  united.  They,  there- 
fore, cast  their  eyes  upon  a  young  man  whose  alliance  ap- 
peared desirable,  and  made  the  proposition  both  to  him 
and  to  the  members  of  his  family.  The  matter  being  set- 
tled on  both  sides,  the  young  man  in  the  evening  entered 
the  wigwam  which  was  destined  for  him  and  seated  him- 
self near  her.  It  is  thus  that  marriages,  are  made  among 
the  Indians ;  and  although  these  heathen  extend  their  dis- 
soluteness and  licentiousness  to  the  greatest  excess,  there 
is  yet  no  nation  which  in  public  guards  so  scrupulously 
that  outward  decorum  which  is  the  attendant  of  perfect 
modesty.  A  young  man  would  be  forever  dishonored  if 
he  should  stop  to  converse  publicly  with  a  young  female. 
Whenever  marriage  is  in  agitation  the  business  is  to  be 
settled  by  the  parents,  and  the  parties  most  interested  are 
not  even  permitted  to  meet.  It  is  sufficient  that  they  are 
talking  of  the  marriage  of  a  young  Indian  with  a  young 
female  to  induce  them  with  care  to  shun  seeing  and  speak- 
ing with  each  other.  When  the  parents  on  both  sides 
have  agreed,  the  young  man  comes  by  night  to  the  wig- 
wam of  his  future  spouse  and  seats  himself  near  her ; 
which  is  the  same  as  declaring  that  he  takes  her  for  his 
wife  and  she  takes  him  for  her  husband. 

Tegahkouita  appeared  utterly  disconcerted  when  she 
saw  the  young  man  seated  by  her  side.  She  at  first 
blushed,  and  then,  rising  abruptly,  went  forth  indignantly 
from  the  wigwam ;  nor  would  she  reenter  until  the  young 
man  left  it.  This  firmness  rendered  her  relatives  out- 
They  considered  that  they  had  in  this  way 
18 


rageous. 


206 


CATUOLIC   HISTORY  OP  AMERICA. 


V 


received  an  insult,  and  resolved  that  they  would  not  be  dis- 
appointed. They,  therefore,  attempted  other  stratagems, 
which  served  only  to  show  more  clearly  the  firmness  of 
their  niece. 

Artifice  not  having  proved  successful,  they  had  recourse 
to  violence.  They  now  treated  her  as  a  slave,  obliging 
her  to  do  every  thing  which  was  most  painful  and  repul- 
sive, and  malignantly  interpreting  all  her  actions,  even 
when  most  innocent.  They  reproached  her  without  ceas- 
ing for  the  want  of  attachment  to  her  relations,  her  un- 
couth manners,  and  her  stupidity ;  for  it  was  thus  that  they 
termed  the  disUke  she  felt  to  marriage.  They  attributed 
it  to  a  secret  hatred  of  the  Iroquois  nation,  because  she  was 
herself  of  the  Algonquin  race.  In  short,  they  omitted  no 
means  of  shaking  her  constancy. 

The  young  girl  suffered  all  this  ill  treatment  with  un- 
wearied patience,  and  without  ever  losing  any  thing  of  her 
equanimity  of  mind  or  her  natural  sweetness;  she  ren- 
dered them  all  the  services  they  required  with  an  attention 
and  docility  beyond  her  years  and  strength.  By  degrees 
her  relatives  were  softened,  restored  to  her  their  kind  feel- 
ings, and  did  not  further  molest  her  in  regard  to  the  course 
she  had  adopted. 

At  this  very  time  Father  Jacques  de  Lamberville  was 
conducted  by  Providence  to  the  village  of  our  young  Iro- 
quois, and  received  orders  from  his  superiors  to  remain 
there ;  although  it  seemed  most  natural  that  he  should  go 
on  to  join  his  brother,  who  had  charge  of  the  mission  to 
the  Iroquois  of  Onnontague.  Tegahkouita  did  not  fail  to 
be  present  at  the  instructions  and  prayers  which  took 
place  every  day  in  the  chapel ;  but  she  did  not  dare  to  dis- 
close the  design  she  had  for  a  long  time  formed,  of  becom- 


APPENDIX. 


207 


ing  a  Christian  ;  porlmps  because  she  was  restrained  by 
fear  of  her  uncle,  in  whose  power  she  entirely  was,  and 
who,  from  interested  motives,  had  joined  in  the  opposition 
to  the  Christians ;  perhaps  because  modesty  itself  ren- 
dered her  too  timid,  and  prevented  her  from  discoveruig 
her  sentiments  to  the  missionary. 

But  at  length  the  occasion  of  her  declaring  her  desire 
for  baptism  presented  itself  when  she  least  expected  it. 
A  wound  which  she  had  received  in  the  foot  detained  her 
in  the  village  whilst  the  greater  part  of  the  women  were 
in  the  fields  gathering  the  harvest  of  Indian  corn.  The 
missionary  had  selected  this  time  to  go  his  rounds  and  in- 
struct at  his  leisure  those  who  were  remaining  in  the  wig- 
wams. He  entered  that  of  Tegahkouita.  This  good  girl, 
on  seeing  him,  was  not  abl^  to  restrain  her  joy.  She  at 
once  began  to  open  her  heart  to  him,  even  in  presence  of 
her  companions,  on  the  earnest  desire  she  had  to  be  ad- 
mitted into  the  fold  of  the  Christians.  She  disclosed  also 
the  obstacles  she  had  been  obliged  to  surmount  on  the  part 
of  her  family,  and  in  this  first  conversation  showed  a 
courage  above  her  sex.  The  goodness  of  her  temper,  the 
vivacity  of  her  spirit,  her  simplicity  and  candor  caused 
the  missionary  to  believe  that  one  day  she  would  make 
great  progress  in  virtue.  He,  therefore,  applied  himself 
particularly  to  instruct  her  in  the  truths  of  Christianity, 
but  did  not  think  he  ought  to  yield  so  soon  to  her  entrea- 
ties ;  for  the  grace  of  baptism  should  not  be  accorded  to 
adults,  and  particularly  in  this  country,  but  with  great  care, 
and  after  a  long  probation.  All  the  winter,  therefore,  was 
employed  in  her  instruction  and  a  rigid  investigation  of 
her  manner  of  life. 

It  is   surprising  that,   notwithstanding  the   propensity 


/ 


208 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OP  AMERICA. 


these  Indians  have  for  slander,  and  particularly  those  of 
her  own  sex,  the  missionary  did  not  find  any  one  but  gave 
a  high  encomium  to  the  young  catechumen.  Even  those 
who  had  persecuted  her  most  severely  were  not  backward 
in  giving  their  testimony  to  her  virtue.  He,  therefore,  did 
not  hesitate  any  longer  to  administer  to  her  the  holy  bap- 
tism which  she  asked  with  so  much  godly  earnestness. 
She  received  it  on  Easter  day,  in  the  year  1G76,  and  was 
named  Catharine ;  and  it  is  thus  that  I  shall  call  her  in  the 
rest  of  this  letter. 

The  only  care  of  the  young  neophyte  was  now  to  fulfil 
the  engagements  s)ie  had  contracted.  She  did  not  wish  to 
restrict  herself  to  the  observance  of  common  practices,  for 
she  felt  that  site  was  called  to  a  more  perfect  life.  Be- 
sides the  public  instructions,  at  which  she  was  present 
punctually,  she  requcvsted  also  particular  ones  for  the  reg- 
ulation of  her  private  and  secret  life.  Her  prayers,  her 
devotions,  and  her  penances  were  arranged  with  the  utmost 
exactness,  and  she  was  so  docile  to  form  herself  according 
to  the  plan  of  perfection  which  had  been  marked  out  for 
her  that  in  a  little  time  she  became  a  model  of  virtue. 

In  this  manner  several  months  passed  away  very  peace- 
ably. Even  her  relations  did  not  seem  to  disapprove  of 
the  new  course  of  life  which  she  was  leading.  But  the 
Holy  Spirit  has  warned  us,  by  the  mouth  of  Wisdom,  that 
the  faithful  soul  which  begins  to  unite  itself  to  God  should 
prepare  for  temptation ;  and  this  was  verified  in  the  case 
of  Catharine.  Her  extraordinary  virtue  drew  upon  her 
the  persecutions  even  of  those  who  admired  her.  They 
looked  upon  a  life  so  pure  as  being  a  tacit  reproach  to 
their  own  irregularities ;  and,  with  the  design  of  discredit- 
ing it,  they  endeavored  by  divers  artifices  to  throw  a  taint 


. 


APrENDTX. 


209 


upon  its  juirily.  Uiit  tlui  conrKlt'iici'  wlii<h  t\w  rif'opliyto 
hud  in  God,  the  distrust  she  Iclr  of  hcrsJ'lf,  her  ton- 
Btnncy  in  j)riiy('f,  and  that  d<  licacy  ot  fonscienco  which 
made  her  dread  even  liie  whadovv  of  a  sin,  gave  her  a  per- 
fect victory  over  tlie  enemies  of  her  innocence. 

The  exactness  with  which  she  observed  the  festival 
days  at  the  chapel  was  tlie  cause  of  another  storm  whicli 
came  upon  her  on  the  i)art  of  her  rehitions.  Tlie  cliaplet 
recited  by  two  clioirs  is  an  exercise  of  tliese  holy  (hiys; 
this  kind  of  psahnody  awakens  tlic  attention  of  the  neo- 
phytes and  animates  their  devotions.  They  execute  the 
hymns  and  sacred  canticles  which  our  Indians  chant  with 
much  exactness  and  harmony ;  for  they  have  a  fine  ear,  a 
good  voice,  and  a  rare  taste  for  music.  Catharine  never 
omitted  this  exercise ;  but  they  took  it  ill  in  the  wigwam 
that  on  these  days  she  abstained  from  going  to  work  with 
the  others  in  the  field.  At  length  they  came  to  bitter 
words  —  cast  upon  her  the  reproach  that  Christianity  had 
made  her  effeminate  and  accustomed  her  to  an  indolent 
life ;  they  did  not  even  allow  her  any  thing  to  eat,  to 
oblige  her,  by  means  of  famine,  to  follow  her  relations  and 
to  aid  in  their  labor.  The  neophyte  bore  with  constancy 
their  reproach  and  contempt,  and  preferred  in  those  days 
to  do  without  nourishment,  rather  than  violate  the  law 
which  required  the  observance  of  these  festivals,  or  to 
omit  these  ordinary  practices  of  piety. 

This  firmness,  which  nothing  could  shake,  irritated  more 
and  more  her  heathen  relatives.  \Yhenever  she  went  to 
the  chapel  they  caused  her  to  be  followed  with  showers  of 
stones  by  drunken  people,  or  those  who  feigned  to  be  so ; 
so  that,  to  avoid  their  insults,  she  was  often  obliged  to  take 
the  most  circuitous  paths.     This  extended  even  to  the 

18* 


H 


A 


r 


210 


CATHOLIC  HISTORY   OP  AMERICA. 


children,  who  pointed  their  fingers  at  her,  cried  after  her, 
and,  in  derision,  called  her  "  the  Christian."  One  day, 
when  she  had  retired  to  her  wigwam,  a  young  man  entered 
abruptly,  his  eyes  sparkling  with  rage,  and  a  hatchet  in 
his  hand,  which  he  raised  as  if  to  strike  her.  Perhaps  he 
had  no  other  design  than  to  frighten  her.  But,  whatever 
might  have  been  the  Indian's  intentions,  Catharine  con- 
tented herself  with  modestly  bowing  her  head,  without 
showing  the  least  t.notion.  This  intrepidity,  so  little  ex- 
pected, astonished  the  Indian  to  such  a  degree  that  he 
immediately  took  to  flight,  as  if  he  had  been  himself  terri- 
fied by  oome  invisible  power. 

It  was  in  such  trials  of  her  patience  ard  piety  that 
Catharine  spent  the  summer  and  autumn  which  followed 
her  baptism.  The  winter  brought  her  a  little  more  tran- 
quillity ;  but,  nevertheless,  she  was  not  freed  from  suffer- 
ing some  crosses  on  the  part  of  one  of  her  aunts.  This 
woman,  who  was  of  a  deceitful  and  dangerous  spirit,  could 
not  endure  the  regular  life  of  her  niece,  and  therefore 
constantly  condemned  her,  even  in  actions  and  words  tJie 
most  indifferent.  It  is  a  custom  among  these  Indians  that 
uncles  give  the  name  of  daughters  to  their  nieces,  and  the 
nieces  reciprocally  call  their  uncles  by  the  name  of  father. 
Hence  it  happens  that  cousins-gerraan  are  commonly 
called  brothers.  It  happened,  however,  once  or  twice,  that 
Catharine  called  the  husband  of  her  aunt  by  his  proper 
name,  and  not  by  that  of  father ;  but  it  was  entirely  owing 
to  mistake  or  want  of  thought.  Yet  this  evil  spirit  did 
not  need  any  thing  further  as  the  foundation  on  which  to 
build  up  a  most  atrocious  calumny.  She  pretended  to  be- 
lieve that  this  manner  of  expressing  herself,  which  seemed 
to  her  30  familiar,  was  an  evidence  of  criminal  intimacy, 


\v 


APPENDIX. 


211 


and  immediately  went  to  seek  the  missionary,  to  decry  her 
to  bim,  and  destroy  in  his  mind  those  sentiments  of 
esteem  which  he  had  always  entertained  for  the  neophyte. 
"  Well ! "  she  said,  at  once ;  "  so  Catharine,  whom  you 
esteem  so  virtuous,  is  notwithstanding  a  hypocrite  who 
deceives  you.  Even  in  my  presence  she  solicited  my  hus- 
band to  sin."  The  missionary,  who  understood  the  evil 
spirit  of  this  woman,  wished  to  know  on  what  she  founded 
an  accusation  of  this  kind  ;  and  having  learned  what  had 
given  occasion  to  this  odious  suspicion,  he  administered  to 
her  a  severe  reprimand,  and  sent  her  away  utterly  con- 
founded. When  he  afterwards  mentioned  it  to  the  neo- 
phyte, she  answered  him  with  a  candor  and  confidence 
which  showed  the  absence  of  all  falsehood.  It  was  on 
this  occasion  that  she  declared, — what,  perhaps,  we  should 
not  have  known  if  she  had  not  been  placed  on  this  trial, — 
that  by  the  kindness  of  the  Lord  she  could  not  remember 
that  she  had  ever  stained  the  purity  of  her  person,  and 
that  she  did  not  fear  receiving  any  reproach  on  this  point 
in  the  day  of  judgment. 

It  was  sad  for  Catharine  to  have  to  sustain  so  many 
conflicts,  and  to  see  her  innocence  exposed  without  cessa- 
tion to  the  outrages  and  railleries  of  her  countrywomen. 
And  in  other  respects  she  had  every  thing  to  fear  in  a 
country  where  so  few  of  the  people  had  imbibed  a  taste 
for  the  maxims  of  the  gospel.  She,  therefore,  earnestly 
desired  to  be  transplanted  to  some  other  mission,  where 
she  might  serve  God  in  peace  and  liberty.  This  was  the 
subject  of  her  most  fervent  prayers,  and  it  was  also  the 
advice  of  the  missionary ;  but  it  was  not  easy  to  bring 
about.  She  was  entirely  in  the  power  of  an  uncle  watch- 
ful of  all  her  actions,  and,  through  the  aversion  he  had  for 


/ 


1  I 


212 


CATHOLIC  HISTORY  OF  AMERICA. 


Christians,  incapable  of  appreciating  her  resolution.  But 
God,  who  listens  favorably  even  to  the  simple  desires  of 
those  who  place  their  trust  in  him,  disposed  all  things  for 
the  repose  and  consolation  of  the  neophyte. 

A  colony  of  Iroquois  had  lately  been  formed  among 
the  French,  the  peace  which  existed  between  the  two  na- 
tions having  given  these  Indians  an  opportunity  of  coming 
to  hunt  on  our  lands.  Many  of  them  stopped  near  the 
prairie  of  the  Madeleine,  where  the  missionaries  of  our 
society  who  dwelt  there  met  them,  and  at  different  times 
conversed  with  them  on  the  necessity  of  salvation.  God 
at  the  same  time  influencing  their  hearts  by  the  impres- 
sions of  his  grace,  these  Indians  found  themselves  suddenly 
changed,  and  listened  Avithout  objection  to  the  proposition 
that  they  should  renounce  their  country  and  settle  among 
us.  They  received  baptism  after  the  usual  instructions 
and  probation. 

The  example  and  devotion  of  these  new  converts  drew 
to  them  many  of  their  countrymen,  and  in  a  few  years  the 
mission  of  St.  Francis  Xavier  du  Sault  (for  it  was  thus 
that  it  was  named)  became  celebrated  for  the  great  num- 
ber of  its  neophytes  and  their  extraordinary  fervor.  If  an 
Iroquois  had  made  these  a  visit  ever  so  short,  even  though 
he  had  no  other  design  but  to  see  his  relatives  or  friends, 
he  seemed  to  lose  entirely  the  desire  to  return  to  his  own 
country.  The  charity  of  these  neophytes  led  them  even 
to  divide  with  the  new  comers  the  fields  which  they  had 
cleared  with  much  labor ;  but  the  way  in  which  this  feel- 
ing appeared  to  the  greatest  advantage  Avas  in  the  eager- 
ness they  showed  in  instructing  them  in  the  truths  of  our 
faith.  To  this  work  they  devoted  entire  days,  and  even  a 
portion  of  the  night.     Their  conversations,  full  of  unction 


APPENDIX. 


213 


and  piety,  made  the  most  lively  impression  on  the  hearts  of 
their  guests,  and  transformed  them,  so  to  speak,  into  ditlerent 
beings.  He  ^vho  a  little  while  before  breathed  of  nothing 
but  blood  and  war,  became  softened,  humble,  teachable,  and 
ready  to  obey  the  most  difficult  maxims  of  on  r  religion. 

This  zeal  did  not  restrict  itself  to  those  who  came  to 
visit  them,  but  induced  them  also  to  make  excursions  into 
the  different  settlements  of  their  nation,  and  they  always 
returned  accompanied  by  a  large  number  of  their  country- 
men. On  the  very  day  that  Catharine  received  baptism, 
one  of  the  most  powerful  of  the  Agniez  returned  to  the 
mission  in  company  with  thirty  of  the  Iroquois  of  that 
tribe  whom  he  had  gained  to  Jesus  Christ.  The  neophyte 
would  very  willingly  have  followed  him ;  but  she  depended, 
as  I  have  said  before,  on  an  uncle  who  did  not  see  with- 
out sorrow  the  depopulation  of  his  village,  and  who  openly 
declared  himself  the  enemy  of  those  who  thought  of  go- 
ing to  live  among  the  French. 

It  was  not  until  the  follwing  year  that  she  obtained  the 
facilities  she  wished  for  the  execution  of  her  design.  She 
had  an  adopted  sister,  who  had  retired  with  her  husband 
to  the  Mission  du  Sault.  The  zeal  of  the  recent  converts 
to  draw  their  relatives  and  friends  to  the  new  colony  in- 
spired her  with  the  same  thoughts  with  regard  to  Catha- 
rine ;  and,  disclosing  her  designs  to  her  husband,  he  gave  his 
consent.  He  joined  himselfj  therefore,  to  an  Indian  of 
Loretto  and  some  other  neophytes,  who,  under  cover  of 
going  to  trade  in  beaver  skins  with  the  English,  travelled 
to  the  villages  of  the  Iroquois,  with  the  intention  of  en- 
gaging their  acquaintances  to  follow  them,  and  to  share  in 
the  blessings  of  their  conversion. 

With  dilTiculty  he  reached  the  village  in  which  Catha- 


214 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OF  AMEKICA. 


rine  lived,  and  informed  her  secretly  of  the  object  of  his 
journey,  and  the  desire  his  vile  felt  that  she  should  be 
with  her  at  the  Mission  du  Sault,  ^vhose  praise  he  set  forth 
in  a  few  words.  As  the  neophyte  appeared  transported 
with  joy  at  this  disclosure,  he  warned  her  to  hold  herself 
in  readiness  to  depart  immediately  on  his  return  from  his 
journey  to  the  English,  which  he  would  not  have  made 
except  to  avoid  giving  umbrage  to  his  uncle.  This  uncle 
was  then  absent,  without  having  any  suspicion  of  his 
niece's  design.  Catharine  went  immediately  to  take  leave 
of  the  missionary,  and  to  ask  his  recommendation  to  the 
fathers  who  were  over  the  Mission  du  Sault.  The  mis- 
sionary on  his  part,  while  he  could  not  withhold  his  ap- 
proval of  the  resolution  of  the  neophyte,  exhorted  her  to 
place  her  trust  in  God,  and  gave  her  those  counsels  which 
he  judged  necessary  in  the  present  juncture. 

As  the  journey  of  her  brother-in-law  was  only  a  pre* 
text  the  better  to'  conceal  his  design,  he  almost  immedi- 
ately returned  to  the  village,  and  the  day  after  hia  arrival 
departed  with  Catharine  and  the  Indian  of  Loretto  who 
had  kept  him  company.  It  was  not  long  before  it  was  dis- 
covered in  the  village  that  the  neophyte  had  disappeared, 
and  they  had  no  doubt  but  that  she  had  followed  the  two 
Indians.  They  immediately,  therefore,  despatched  a  run- 
ner to  her  uncle  to  give  him  the  news.  The  old  chief, 
jealous  of  the  increase  of  his  nation,  foamed  with  rage  at 
the  intelligence ;  and  immediately  charging  his  gun  with 
three  balls,  he  went  in  pursuit  of  those  who  had  accom- 
panied his  niece.  He  made  such  haste  that  in  a  very 
short  time  he  came  up  with  them.  The  two  Indians,  who 
had  known  beforehand  that  he  would  not  fail  to  pursue 
them,  had  concealed  the  neophyte  in  a  thick  wood,  and  had 


«■      \': 


APPENDIX. 


215 


stopped  as  if  to  take  a  little  repose.  The  old  man  was 
very  much  astonished  at  not  finding  his  niece  with  them ; 
and  after  a  moment's  conversation,  coming  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  he  had  credited  too  easily  the  first  rumor  which 
had  been  spread,  he  retraced  his  footsteps  to  the  village. 
Catharine  regarded  this  sudden  retreat  of  her  uncle  as  one 
effect  of  the  protection  of  God  which  ?he  enjoyed ;  and, 
continuing  her  route,  she  arrived  at  the  Mission  du  Sault 
in  the  end  of  autumn  of  the  year  1677. 

She  took  up  her  abode  with  the  family  of  her  brother- 
in-law.  The  cabin  belonged  to  one  of  the  most  fervent 
Christians  in  the  place,  named  Anastasia,  whose  care  it 
w^as  to  instruct  those  of  her  own  sex  who  aspired  to  the 
grace  of  baptism.  The  zeal  with  which  she  discharged 
her  duty  in  this  employment,  her  conversations,  and  her 
example  charmed  Catharine.  But  what  edified  her  ex- 
ceedingly was  the  piety  of  all  the  converts  who  composed 
this  numerous  mission.  Above  all,  she  was  struck  with 
seeing  men  become  so  different  from  what  they  were  when 
they  lived  in  their  own  country.  She  compared  their 
exemplary  life  with  the  licentious  course  they  had  been 
accustomed  to  lead ;  and  recognizing  the  hand  of  God  in 
so  extraordinary  a  change,  she  ceaselessly  thanked  him 
for  having  conducted  her  into  this  land  of  blessings. 

To  make  a  suitable  return  for  these  favors  from  Heaven, 
she  felt  that  she  ought  to  give  herself  up  entirely  to  God, 
without  having  any  reserve,  or  permitting  any  thought  of 
herself.  The  consecrated  place  became,  thenceforth,  all 
her  delight.  She  repaired  thither  at  four  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  attended  the  mass  at  the  dawn  of  day,  and  after- 
wards assisted  at  that  of  the  Indians,  which  was  said  at 
sunrise.     During  the  course  of  the  day  she  from  time  to 


' 


,r 


216 


CATHOLIC  HISTORY  OF  AMERICA. 


time  broke  off  from  her  work  to  go  and  hold  communion 
with  Jesus  Christ  at  the  foot  of  the  ahar.  In  the  even- 
ing she  returned  again  to  the  church,  and  did  not  leave  it 
until  the  night  was  far  advanced.  When  engaged  in  her 
prayers,  she  seemed  entirely  unconscious  of  what  was 
passing  without ;  and  m  a  short  time  the  Holy  Spirit  raised 
her  to  so  sublime  a  devotion  that  she  often  spent  many 
hours  in  intimate  communion  with  God. 

To  this  inclination  for  prayer  she  joined  an  almost  un- 
ceasing application  to  labor.  She  sustained  herself  in  her 
toils  by  the  pious  conversations  which  she  held  with  An- 
astasia,  that  fervent  Christian  of  whom  I  have  already 
spoken,  and  with  whom  she  liad  forra'^d  a  most  intimate 
friendship.  The  topics  on  which  they  most  generally  talked 
were,  the  delight  they  received  in  the  service  of  God,  the 
means  of  pleasing  him  and  advancing  in  virtue,  the  pecu- 
liar traits  seen  in  the  lives  of  the  saints,  the  horror  they 
should  have  of  sin,  and  the  care  with  which  they  should 
expiate  by  penitence  those  they  had  the  misfortune  to 
commit.  She  always  ended  the  week  by  an  exact  investi- 
gation of  her  faults  and  imperfections,  that  she  might  efface 
them  by  the  sacrament  of  penance,  which  she  underwent 
every  Saturday  evening.  For  this  she  prepared  herself 
by  different  mortifications  with  which  she  afflicted  her 
body;  and  when  she  accused  herself  of  faults  even  the 
most  light,  it  was  with  such  vivid  feelings  of  compunction 
that  she  shed  tears,  and  her  words  were  choked  by  sighs 
and  sobbings.  The  lofty  idea  she  had  of  the  majesty  of 
God  made  her  regard  the  least  offence  with  horror ;  and 
■when  any  had  escaped  her,  she  seemed  not  able  to  pardon 
herself  for  its  commission. 

Virtues  so  marked  did  not  permit  me  for  a  very  long 


w 


.w 


APPENDIX. 


217 


time  to  refuse  her  the  permission  which  she  so  earnestly 
desired,  that  on  the  approaching  festival  of  Christmas  she 
should  receive  her  first  communion.  This  is  a  privilege 
which  is  not  accorded  to  those  who  come  to  reside  among 
the  Iroquois  until  after  some  years  of  probation  and  many 
trials ;  but  the  piety  of  Catharine  placed  her  beyond  the 
ordinary  rules.  She  participated,  for  the  first  time  in  her 
life,  in  the  holy  eucharist  with  a  degree  of  fervor  propor- 
tioned to  the  reverence  she  had  for  this  grace,  and  the 
earnestness  with  which  she  had  desired  to  obtain  it ;  and 
on  every  subsequent  occasion  on  which  she  approached 
the  holy  sacrament,  it  was  always  with  the  same  disposi- 
tion. Her  manner  alone  inspired  the  most  lukewarm  with 
devotion;  and  when  a  general  communion  was  about  to 
take  place,  the  most  virtuous  neophytes  endeavored  with 
emulation  to  be  near  her,  because,  said  they,  the  sight 
alone  of  Catharine  served  them  for  an  excellent  prepara- 
tion for  communing  worthily. 

After  the  festival  cf  Christmas,  it  being  the  proper  sea- 
son for  the  chase,  she  was  not  able  to  excuse  herself  from 
following  her  sister  and  brother-in-law  into  the  forests. 
She  then  made  it  apparent  that  one  is  able  to  serve  God 
in  all  places  where  his  providence  calls  him.  She  did  not 
relax  any  of  her  ordinary  exercises,  while  her  piety  even 
suggested  to  her  holy  practices  to  substitute  in  place  of 
those  which  were  incompatible  with  a  residence  in  the  for- 
ests. There  was  a  time  set  apart  for  every  thing.  In 
the  morning  she  applied  herself  to  her  prayers,  and  con- 
cluded with  those  which  the  Indians  make  in  common, 
according  to  their  custom ;  and  in  the  evening  she  renewed 
them  again,  continuing  until  the  night  vr'i.s  far  advanced. 
While  the  Indians  were  partaking  of  their  repast,  to  pre- 

19 


i 


I 


si 


218 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OF  AMERICA. 


tv 


pare  themselves  to  endure  the  chase  through  the  whole 
day,  she  retired  to  some  secret  place  to  offer  up  her  devo- 
tions. As  this  was  a  little  before  the  time  when  they  were 
accustomed  to  hear  mass  at  the  mission,  she  had  fixed  a 
cross  in  the  trunk  of  a  tree  which  she  found  by  the  side  of 
a  stream ;  and  this  solitary  spot  was  her  oratory.  There 
she  placed  herself  in  spirit  at  the  foot  of  the  altar;  she 
united  her  soul  with  that  of  the  priest ;  she  prayed  her 
guardian  angel  to  be  present  for  her  at  that  holy  sacrifice, 
and  to  apply  to  her  its  benefits.  The  rest  of  the  day  she 
spent  in  laboring  with  the  others  of  her  sex ;  but,  to  banish 
all  frivolous  discourse  and  preserve  her  union  with  God, 
she  always  introduced  some  religious  conversation,  or  per- 
haps invited  them  to  sing  hymns  or  anthems  in  praise  of 
their  Lord.  Her  repasts  were  very  simple,  and  often  she 
did  not  eat  till  the  end  of  the  day.  At  other  times  she 
secretly  mixed  ashes  with  the  food  provided  for  her,  to  de- 
prive it  of  every  thing  which  might  afford  pleasure  to  the 
taste.  This  is  a  s'^l^-mortification  which  she  always  prac- 
tised when  she  could  do  so  without  being  seen. 

This  sojourn  in  the  forests  was  not  very  agreeable  to 
Catharine,  although  generally  pleasant  to  the  Indian  women, 
because,  freed  from  domestic  cares,  they  pass  their  time  in 
amusements  and  feasting.  She  longed  without  ceasing 
for  the  time  to  arrive  when  they  are  accustomed  to  return 
to  the  village  The  church,  the  presence  of  Jesus  Christ 
in  the  august  sacrament  of  the  altar,  the  holy  sacrifice 
of  the  mass,  the  frequent  exhortations,  and  the  other  exer- 
cises of  the  mission,  of  which  she  was  deprived  while 
engaged  in  the  chase,  —  these  were  the  only  objects  which 
interested  her.  She  had  no  taste  for  any  thing  else.  She 
therefore  formed  the  determination,  that,  if  she  lived  to 


APPENDIX. 


219 


return  once  more  to  the  mission,  slio  would  never  again 
leave  it.  She  arrived  there  near  tlicj  time  of  Passion 
week,  and  for  the  first  time  as.sisted  in  the  ceremonies  of 
those  holydays.  i, 

I  shall  not  stop,  my  reverend  father,  to  describe  to  you 
here  how  deeply  she  was  affected  by  a  spectacle  so  touch- 
ing as  that  of  the  sorrows  and  death  of  a  God  for  the 
safety  of  men.  Slie  shed  tears  ahnost  continually,  and 
formed  the  resolution  to  boar,  for  tlie  rest  of  her  days,  in 
her  own  body  the  cross  of  Jesus  Christ.  From  that  time 
she  sought  all  occasions  of  self-mortification,  perhaps  to 
expiate  those  light  faults  which  she  regarded  as  so  many 
outrages  against  the  divine  Majesty,  perhaps  to  trace  in 
her  the  image  of  a  God  crucified  for  love  of  us.  The  con- 
versations of  Anastasia,  who  often  talked  Avith  her  of  the 
pains  of  hell,  and  the  severity  which  the  saints  exercised 
upon  themselves,  strengthened  the  desire  she  had  for  the 
austerities  of  penance.  Slie  found  herself  also  animated 
to  this  course  by  an  accident  which  placed  her  in  great 
danger  of  losing  her  life.  She  was  cutting  a  tree  in  the 
woods,  which  fell  sooner  than  she  expected.  She  had  suf- 
ficient time,  by  drawing  back,  to  shun  the  body  of  the 
tree,  which  would  have  crushed  her  by  its  fall ;  but  she 
was  not  able  to  escape  from  one  of  the  branches,  which 
struck  her  violently  on  the  head,  and  threw  her  senseless 
to  the  ground.  She  shortly  afterwards  recovered  from 
her  swoon,  and  those  around  heard  her  softly  ejaculating, 
"  I  thank  thee,  O  good  Jesus,  for  having  succored  me  in 
this  danger."  She  did  not  doubt  but  that  God  had  pre- 
served her  to  give  her  time  to  expiate  her  sins  by  repent- 
ance. This  she  declared  to  a  companion,  who  felt  herself 
called,  like  Catharine,  to  a  life  of  austerity,  and  with  whom 


220 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OP  AMEUICA. 


I 


she  was  in  so  close  an  intimacy  tliat  tlicy  communicated 
to  each  otlier  the  most  secret  thinj^s  which  took  phice  in 
their  innermost  souls.  This  new  association  liad  indeed 
so  much  influence  on  the  lite  of  Catharine  that  I  cannot 

_f/     refrain  from  speaking  of  it. 

Therese  (it  is  thus  that  she  was  named)  had  been  bap- 
tized by  Father  Bruyas  in  the  Iroquois  country ;  but 
the  licentiou&ness  which  prevailed  among  her  people,  and 
the  evil  example  she  always  had  before  her  eyes,  caused 
her  shortly  to  forget  the  vows  of  her  baptism.  Even  a 
sojourn  which  she  made  after  some  time  at  the  mission, 
where  she  had  come  to  live  with  his  family,  only  produced 
a  partial  change  in  her  life.  A  most  strange  adventure, 
however,  which  happened  to  her,  operated  at  last  to  her 
conversion. 

She  had  gone  with  her  husband  and  a  young  nephew 

'  to  the  chase,  near  the  river  of  the  Outaouacks.  On  their 
way  some  other  Indians  joined  them,  and  they  made  a 
company  of  eleven  persons — that  is,  four  men  and  four 
women,  with  three  young  persons.  Therese  was  the  only 
Christian.  The  snow,  which  this  year  fell  very  late,  pre- 
vented them  from  having  any  success  in  hunting ;  their 
provisions  were  in  a  short  time  consumed,  and  they  were 
reduced  to  eat  some  skins  Avhieh  they  had  brought  with 
them  to  make  moccasons.  At  length  they  ate  the  mocca- 
sons  themselves ;  and  finally,  pressed  by  hunger,  were 
obliged  to  sustain  their  lives  principally  by  herbs  and  the 
bark  of  trees.  In  the  mean  time  the  husband  of  Therese 
V  fell  dangerously  ill,  and  the  hunters  were  obliged  to  halt. 
Two  among  them,  an  Agnie  and  a  Tsonnontouan^  asked 
leave  of  the  party  to  make  an  excursion  to  some  distance 
in  search  of  game,  promising  to  return  at  the  furthest  in 


APPENDIX. 


221 


ten  days.  The  Arpu'e,  indood,  returned  at  the  time  ap- 
pointed ;  but  lie  eanie  alone,  and  reported  that  the  7'son' 
nontouan  had  perished  by  famine  and  misery.  They  sus- 
pected him  of  having  murdered  his  companion,  and  then 
fed  upon  his  flesh  ;  for,  although  he  d«'elared  tliat  lie  had 
not  found  any  game,  he  was  nevertheless  in  full  strength 
and  health.  A  few  days  afterwards  the  husband  of  Therese 
died,  exi)eriencing  in  his  last  moments  deep  regret  that  ho 
had  not  received  baptism.  The  remainder  of  the  com- 
pany then  resumed  their  journey,  to  attempt  to  reach  the 
bank  of  the  river  and  gain  the  French  settlements.  After 
two  or  three  days*  march,  they  became  so  enfeebled  by 
want  of  nourishment  that  they  were  not  able  to  advance 
farther.  Desperation  then  inspired  them  with  a  strange 
resolution  —  which  was,  to  put  some  of  their  number  to 
death,  that  the  lives  of  the  rest  might  be  preserved.  They 
therefore  selected  the  wife  of  the  Tsonnontouan  and  her 
two  children,  who  were  thus  in  succession  devoured.  This 
spectacle  terrified  Therese,  for  she  hiid  good  reason  to  fear 
the  same  treatment.  Then  she  reflected  on  the  deplorable 
state  in  which  conscience  told  her  she  was  ;  she  repented 
bitterly  that  she  had  ever  entered  the  forest  without  hav- 
ing first  purified  herself  by  a  full  confession  ;  she  asked 
pardon  of  God  for  the  disorders  of  her  life,  and  promised 
to  confess  as  soon  as  possible  and  undergo  penance.  Her 
prayer  was  heard ;  and  after  incredible  fatigues  she 
reached  the  village  with  four  others,  who  alone  remained 
of  the  company.  She  did,  indeed,  fulfil  one  part  of  the 
promise,  for  she  confessed  herself  soon  after  her  return ; 
but  she  was  more  backward  to  reform  her  life  and  subject 
herself  to  the  rigors  of  penance. 

One  day,  while  she  was  looking  at  the  new  church  they 
19* 


3[ 


222 


CATHOLIC   IIISTOIIY  OF  AMERICA. 


were  building  iit  tlic  Sault,  nflcr  tlicy  liad  removed  thither 
the  mi.ssion  which  hefore  had  been  at  the  prairie  of  the 
Madeleine,  phe  met  \vitli  Catliarine,  who  was  also  inspect- 
ing it.  They  saluted  each  other  for  the  first  time  ;  and,  en- 
tering into  conversation,  Catharine  asked  her  which  por- 
tion of  the  churcli  was  to  bo  set  apart  for  the  females. 
Thercse  pointed  out  the  place  which  she  thought  would  be 
appropriated  to  them.  "  Alas ! "  miswered  Catharine,  with 
a  sigh,  "  it  is  not  in  this  material  temple  that  God  most 
loves  to  dwell.  It  is  within  ourselves  that  he  wishes  to 
take  up  his  abode.  Our  hearts  are  the  temple  which  is 
most  agreeable  to  him.  But,  miserable  being  that  I  am, 
how  many  times  have  I  forced  him  to  abandon  this  heart 
in  which  he  should  reign  alone !  And  do  I  not  deserve 
that,  to  punish  me  for  my  ingratitude,  they  should  forever 
exclude  me  from  this  temple  which  they  are  raising  to  his 
glory  ?  " 

The  humility  of  these  sentiments  deeply  touched  the 
heart  of  Therese.  At  the  same  time  she  felt  herself 
pressed  by  remorse  of  conscience  to  fulfil  what  she  had 
promised  to  the  Lord ;  and  she  did  not  doubt  but  that  God 
had  directed  to  her  this  holy  female,  to  support  her  by  her 
counsels  and  example  in  the  new  kind  of  life  she  wished 
to  embrace.  She  therefore  opened  her  heart  to  Catharine 
on  the  holy  desires  with  which  God  had  insi)ired  her,  and 
insensibly  the  conversation  led  them  to  disclose  to  each 
other  their  most  secret  thoughts.  To  converse  with  great- 
er ease,  they  went  and  sat  at  the  foot  of  a  cross  which  was 
erected  on  the  banks  of  the  River  St.  Lawrence.  This 
first  interview,  which  revealed  the  uniformity  of  their  sen- 
timents and  inclinations,  began  to  strengthen  the  bonds  of 
a  holy  friendship,  which  lasted  even  to  the  death  of  Cath- 


y^ 


APPENDIX. 


228 


arino.  From  tliis  time  tlipy  wore  inflcpnniWo.  Tlioywent 
tojrothcr  to  the  chiirt'h,  to  the  forest,  and  to  their  daily  hi- 
bor  —  th<!y  aniiniitcd  eaeh  other  to  the  service  of  God  by 
their  religious  eonversatioiis  —  they  mutually  communicat- 
ed their  pains  and  dislikes — -they  disclosed  their  faults  — 
they  encouraged  each  other  to  the  practice  of  austere  vir- 
tues ;  and  thus  were  mutually  of  infinite  service  in  ad" 
vancing  more  and  more  in  their  views  of  perfection. 

It  was  thus  that  God  prepared  Catharine  for  a  new  con- 
test which  her  love  of  celibacy  obliged  her  to  undergo. 
Interested  views  insj)ired  her  sister  witli  the  design  of 
marrying  her.  She  supposed  there  was  not  a  young  man 
then  in  the  Mission  dii  Sault  who  would  not  be  ambitious 
of  the  honor  of  being  united  to  so  virtuous  a  female,  and 
that  thus,  having  the  whole  village  from  which  to  make  her 
choice,  she  would  be  able  to  select  for  her  brother-in-law 
some  able  hunter  who  would  bring  abundance  to  the  cabin. 
She  expected,  indeed,  to  meet  with  difficulties  on  the  part 
of  Catharine,  for  she  was  not  ignorant  of  the  persecutions 
this  generous  girl  had  already  suffered,  and  the  constancy 
with  which  she  had  sustained  them  ;  but  she  persuaded  her- 
self that  the  force  of  reason  would  finally  vanquish  her 
opposition.  She  selected,  therefore,  a  particular  day ;  and 
after  having  shown  Catharine  even  more  affection  than  or- 
dinarj%  she  addressed  her  with  that  eloquence  which  is 
natural  to  these  Indians  when  they  are  engaged  in  any 
thing  which  concerns  their  interests. 

"  I  must  confess,  my  dear  sister,"  said  she,  with  a  man- 
ner full  of  sweetness  and  affability,  "  you  are  under  great 
obligations  to  the  Lord  for  having  brought  you,  as  well  as 
ourselves,  from  our  unhappy  country,  and  for  having  con- 
ducted you  to  the  Mission  du  Sault,  where  every  thing  is 


ygnmiM*Kff^.-aiij!,.j!i 


224 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OP  AMERICA. 


(  1 


favorable  to  your  piety.  If  you  are  rejoiced  to  be  here,  I 
have  no  less  satisfaction  at  having  vou  with  me.  You  ev- 
ery  day,  indeed,  increase  our  pleasure  by  the  wisdom  of 
your  conduct,  which  draws  upon  you  general  esteem  and 
approbation.  There  only  remains  one  thing  for  you  to  do 
to  complete  our  happiness ;  which  is,  to  think  seriously  of 
establishing  yourself  by  a  good  and  judicious  marriage. 
All  the  young  girls  among  us  take  this  course  ;  you  are  of 
an  age  to  act  as  they  do ;  and  you  are  bound  to  do  so  even 
more  particularly  than  others,  either  to  shun  the  occasions 
of  sin,  or  to  supply  the  necessities  of  life.  It  is  true  that 
it  is  a  source  of  great  pleasure  to  us,  both  to  your  brother- 
in-law  and  myself,  to  furnish  these  things  for  you ;  but  you 
know  that  he  is  in  the  decline  of  life,  and  that  we  are 
charged  with  the  care  of  a  large  family.  If  you  were  to 
be  deprived  of  us,  to  whom  could  you  have  recourse? 
Think  of  these  things,  Catharine ;  provide  for  yourself  a 
refuge  from  the  evils  which  accompany  poverty ;  and  de- 
termine as  soon  as  possible  to  prepare  to  avoid  them,  while 
you  can  do  it  so  easily,  and  in  a  way  so  advantiigeous  both 
to  yourself  and  to  our  family." 

There  Avas  nothing  which  Catharine  less  expected  than 
a  proposition  of  this  kind ;  but  the  kindness  and  respect 
she  felt  for  her  sister  induced  her  to  conceal  her  pain,  and 
she  contented  herself  with  merely  answering,  that  she 
thanked  her  for  tliis  advice,  but  the  step  was  of  great  con- 
sequence, and  she  would  think  of  it  seriously.  It  was  thus 
that  she  warded  off  the  first  attack.  She  immediately 
came  to  seek  me,  to  complain  bitterly  of  these  importunate 
solicitations  of  her  sister.  As  I  did  not  appear  to  accede 
entirely  to  her  reasoning,  and,  for  the  purpose  of  proving 
her,  dwelt  on  those  considerations  which  ought  to  incline 


\  i 


APPENDIX. 


225 


h 


her  to  marriage,  "  Ah,  my  father,"  said  she,  "  I  am  not 
any  longer  my  own.  I  have  given  myself  entirely  to 
Jesus  Christ,  and  it  is  not  possible  for  me  to  change  mas- 
ters. Tlie  poverty  with  which  I  am  threatened  gives  me 
no  uneasiness.  So  little  is  requisite  to  supply  the  necessi- 
ties of  this  wretched  life  that  my  labor  can  furnish  this, 
and  I  can  always  find  some  miserable  rags  to  cover  me." 
I  sent  her  away,  saying  that  she  should  think  well  on  the 
subject,  for  it  was  one  which  merited  the  most  serious  at- 
tention. 

Scarcely  had  she  returned  to  the  cabin  when  her  sister, 
impatient  to  bring  her  over  to  her  views,  pressed  her  anew 
to  end  her  wavering  by  f:,rming  an  advantageous  settle- 
ment. But,  finding  from  the  reply  of  Catharine  that  it 
was  useless  to  attempt  to  change  her  mind,  she  determined 
to  enlist  Anastasia  in  her  interests,  since  they  both  regard- 
ed her  as  their  mother.  In  this  she  was  successful.  An- 
astasia was  readily  induced  to  believe  that  Catharine  had 
too  hastily  formed  her  resolution,  and  therefore  employed 
all  that  influence  which  age  and  virtue  gave  her  over  the 
mind  of  the  young  girl,  to  persuade  her  that  marriage  was 
the  only  part  she  ought  to  take. 

This  measure,  however,  had  no  greater  success  than  the 
other ;  and  Anastasia,  who  had  always  until  that  time  found 
so  much  docility  in  Catharine,  was  extremely  surprised  at 
the  little  deference  she  paid  to  her  counsels.  She  even 
bitterly  reproaclied  her,  and  threatened  to  bring  her  com- 
plaints to  me.  Catharine  anticipated  her  in  this ;  and  after 
having  related  the  pains  they  forced  her  to  suffer  to  induce 
her  to  adopt  a  course  so  little  to  her  taste,  she  prayed  me 
to  aid  her  in  consummating  the  sacrifice  she  wished  to 
make  of  herself  to  Jesus  Christ,  and  to  provide  her  a 


226 


CATHOLIC  HISTORY  OF  AMERICA. 


refuge  from  the  opposition  she  had  to  undergo  from  Anas- 
tasia  and  her  sister.  I  praised  her  design,  but  at  the  same 
time  advised  her  to  take  yet  three  days  to  deliberate  on  an 
affair  of  such  importance,  and  during  that  time  to  offer  up 
extraordinary  prayers  that  she  might  be  better  taught  the 
will  of  Grod  ;  after  which,  if  she  still  persisted  in  her  res- 
olution, I  promised  her  to  put  an  end  to  the  importunities 
of  her  relatives.  She  at  first  acquiesced  in  what  I  pro- 
posed, but  in  less  than  a  quarter  of  an  hour  came  back  to 
seek  me.  "  It  is  settled,"  said  she,  as  she  came  near  me ; 
"  it  is  not  a  question  for  deliberation ;  my  part  has  long 
since  been  taken,  No,  my  father,  I  can  have  no  other 
spouse  but  Jesus  Christ."  I  thought  that  it  would  be 
wrong  for  me  any  longer  to  oppose  a  resolution  which 
seemed  to  me  inspired  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  therefore 
exhorted  her  to  perseverance,  assuring  her  that  I  would 
undertake  her  defence  against  those  who  wished  hence- 
forth to  disturb  her  on  that  subject.  This  answer  restored 
her  former  tranquillity  of  mind,  and  reestablished  in  her 
soul  that  inward  peace  which  she  preserved  even  to  the 
end  of  her  life. 

Scarcely  had  she  gone  when  Anastasia  came  to  com- 
plain in  her  turn  that  Catharine  would  not  listen  to  any 
advice,  but  followed  only  her  own  whims.  She  was  run- 
ning on  in  this  strain,  when  I  interrupted  her  by  saying 
that  I  was  acquainted  with  the  cause  of  her  dissatisfaction, 
but  was  astonished  that  a  Christian  as  old  as  she  was  could 
disapprove  of  an  action  which  merited  the  highest  praise, 
and  that,  if  she  had  faith,  she  ought  to  know  the  value  of 
a  state  so  sublime  as  that  of  celibacy,  which  rendered  fee- 
ble men  like  to  the  angels  themselves.  At  these  words 
Anastasia  seemed  to  be  in  a  perfect  dream ;  and  as  she  pos- 


1 1 


•n^ 


APPENDIX. 


227 


sessed  a  deeply 'Seatcd  devotion  of  spirit,  she  almost  imme- 
diately began  to  tarn  the  blame  upon  herself.  She  admired 
the  courage  of  this  virtuous  girl,  and  at  length  became  the 
foremost  to  fortify  her  in  the  holy  resolution  she  had  taken. 
It  was  thus  that  God  turned  these  different  contradictions 
to  be  a  benefit  to  his  servant,  and  it  also  furnished  Cath- 
arine with  a  new  motive  to  serve  God  with  greater  fervor. 
She  therefore  added  new  practices  to  the  ordinary  exercises 
of  piety.  Feeble  as  she  was,  she  redoubled  her  diligence 
in  labor,  her  watchings,  fastings,  and  other  austerities. 

It  was  then  the  end  of  autumn,  when  the  Indians  are 
accustomed  to  form  their  parties  to  go  out  to  hunt  during 
the  winter  in  the  forests.  The  sojourn  which  Catharine 
had  already  made  there,  and  the  pain  she  had  suffered  at 
being  deprived  of  tlie  religious  privileges  she  possessed  in 
the  village,  had  induced  her  to  form  the  resolution,  as  I 
have  already  mentioned,  that  she  would  never  during  her 
life  return  there.  I  thought,  iiowever,  that  the  change  of 
air,  and  the  diet,  which  is  so  much  better  in  the  forest, 
would  be  able  to  restore  her  health,  which  was  now  very 
much  impaired.  It  was  for  this  reason  that  I  advised  her 
to  follow  the  family  and  others  who  went  to  the  hunting 
grounds.  She  answered  me,  in  that  deeply  devotional 
manner  which  was  so  natural  to  her,  "  It  is  true,  my  fa- 
ther, that  my  body  is  served  most  luxuriously  in  the  forest  j 
but  the  soul  languishes  there,  and  is  not  able  to  satisfy  ita 
hunger.  On  the  contrary,  in  th6  village  the  body  suffers  ; 
I  am  contented  that  it  should  be  so ;  but  the  soul  finds  its 
delight  in  being  near  to  Jesus  Christ.  Well,  then,  I  will 
willingly  abandon  this  miserable  body  to  hunger  and  suf- 
fering, provided  that  my  soul  may  have  its  ordinary  nour- 
ishment." 


Ik 


228 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OP  AMERICA.. 


I 


\ 

'  I, 


She  remained,  therefore,  during  the  winter  in  the  village, 
where  she  lived  only  on  Indian  corn,  and  was  subjected,  in- 
deed, to  much  suffering.  But  not  content  with  allowing 
her  body  only  this  insipid  food,  which  could  scarcely  sus- 
tain it,  she '  subjected  it  also  to  austerities  and  excessive 
penances,  without  taking  counsel  of  any  one,  persuading 
herself  that,  while  the  object  was  self-mortification,  she 
w^as  right  in  giving  herself  up  to  every  thing  which  could 
increase  her  fervor.  She  was  incited  to  these  holy  exer- 
cises by  the  noble  examples  of  self-mortification  which  she 
always  had  V^fore  her  eyes.  The  spirit  of  penance  reigned 
among  the  Christians  at  the  Sault.  Fastings,  discipline 
carried  even  unto  bjood,  belts  lined  with  points  of  iron,  — 
these  were  their  most  common  austerities ;  and  some  of 
them,  by  these  voluntary  macerations,  prepared  themselves, 
when  the  time  came,  to  suffer  the  most  fearful  torments. 

The  war  was  once  more  rekindled  between  the  Frencli 
and  the  Iroquois  ;  and  the  latter  invited  their  countrymen 
who  were  at  the  Mission  du  Sault  to  return  to  their  own 
country,  where  they  promised  them  entire  liberty  in  the 
exercise  of  their  religion.  The  refusal  with  which  these 
offers  were  met  transported  them  with  fury,  and  the  Chris- 
tian Indians  who  remained  at  the  Sault  were  immediately 
declared  enemies  of  their  nation.  A  party  of  Iroquois 
surprised  some  of  them  while  hunting,  and  carried  them 
away  to  their  country,  where  they  were  burned  by  a  slow 
fire.  But  these  noble  and  faithful  men,  even  in  the  midst 
of  the  most  excruciating  torments,  preached  Jesus  Christ 
to  those  who  were  torturing  them  so  cruelly,  and  conjured 
them,  as  soon  as  possible,  to  embrace  Christianity,  to  de- 
liver themselves  from  eternal  fires.  One  in  particular 
among  them,  named  Etienne,  signalized  his  constancy  and 


\    : 


APPENDIX. 


229 


faith.  "When  environed  by  the  burning  flatne!<,  he  did  not 
cease  to  encourage  his  wife,  who  was  sufieiing  the  same 
torture,  to  invoke  with  him  the  holy  name  of  Jesus.  Be- 
ing on  the  point  of  expiring,  he  rallied  all  his  strength, 
and,  in  imitation  of  his  Master,  prayed  the  Lord  with  a 
loud  voice  for  the  conversion  of  those  who  had  treated  him 
with  such  inhumanity.  Many  of  the  savages,  touched  by 
a  spectacle  so  new  to  them,  abandoned  their  country  and 
came  to  the  Mission  du  Sault,  to  ask  for  baptism,  a'^d  live 
there  in  accordance  with  the  laws  of  the  gospel. 

The  women  were  not  behind  their  husbands  in  the  ardor 
they  showed  for  a  life  of  penance.  They  even  went  to 
such  extremes,  that,  when  it  came  to  our  knowledge,  we 
were  obliged  to  moderate  their  zeal.  Besides  the  ordinary 
instruments  of  mortification  which  they  employed,  they 
had  a  thousand  new  inventions  to  inflict  suffering  upon 
themselves.  Some  placed  themselves  in  the  snow  when 
the  cold  was  most  severe ;  others  stripped  themselves  to 
the  waist  in  retired  places,  and  remained  a  long  time  ex- 
posed to  the  rigor  of  the  season,  on  the  banks  of  a  frozen 
river,  and  where  the  wind  was  blowing  with  violence. 
There  were  even  those  who,  after  having  broken  the  ice 
in  the  ponds,  plunged  themselves  in  up  to  the  neck,  and 
remained  there  as  long  as  it  was  necessary  for  them  to  re- 
cite many  times  the  ten  beads  of  their  rosary.  One  of 
then:^  did  this  three  nights  in  succession ;  and  it  was  the 
cause  of  so  violent  a  fever  that  it  was  thought  she  would 
have  died  of  it.  Another  one  surprised  me  extremely  by 
her  simplicity.  I  learned  that,  not  content  with  having 
herself  used  this  mortification,  she  had  also  plunged  her 
daughter,  but  three  years  old,  into  the  frozen  river,  from 
which  she  drew  her  out  half  dead.     When  I  sharply  re- 

20 


)■■ 


ih 


H 


230 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY   OP  AMERICA. 


preached  her  indiscretion,  she  answered  me  with  a  surpris- 
ing naivete,  that  she  did  not  think  she  was  doing  any  thing 
wrong,  but  that,  knowing  her  daughter  would  one  day  cer- 
tainly offend  the  Lord,  she  had  wished  to  impose  on  her 
in  advance  the  pain  which  her  sin  merited. 

Although  those  who  inflicted  these  mortifications  on 
themselves  were  particular  to  conceal  them  from  the 
knowledge  of  the  public,  yet  Catharine,  who  had  a  mind 
quick  and  penetrating,  did  not  fail  from  various  appear- 
ances to  conjecture  that  which  they  held  so  secret ;  and  as 
she  studied  every  means  to  testify  more  and  more  her  love 
to  Jesus  Christ,  she  applied  herself  to  examine  every  thing 
that  was  done  pleasing  to  the  Lord,  that  she  might  herself 
immediately  piit  it  in  practice.  It  was  for  this  reason  that 
while  passing  some  days  at  Montreal,  where  for  the  first 
time  she  saw  the  nuns,  she  was  so  charmed  with  their  mod- 
esty and  devotion  that  she  informed  herself  most  thor- 
oughly with  regard  to  the  manner  in  which  these  holy  sis- 
ters lived  and  the  virtues  which  they  practised.  Having 
learned  that  they  were  Christian  virgins,  who  were  con- 
secrated to  God  by  a  vow  of  perpetual  continence,  she 
gave  me  no  peace  until  I  had  granted  her  permission  to 
make  the  same  sacrifice  of  herself,  not  by  a  simple  resolu- 
tion to  guard  her  virginity,  such  as  she  had  already  made, 
but  by  an  irrevocable  engagement  which  obliged  her  to 
belong  to  God  without  any  recall.  I  would  not,  however, 
give  my  consent  to  this  step  until  I  had  well  proved  her, 
and  been  anew  convinced  that  it  was  the  Spirit  of  God, 
acting  in  this  excellent  girl,  which  had  thus  inspired  her 
with  a  design  of  which  there  had  never  been  an  example 
among  the  Indians.     ♦ 

For  this  great  event  she  chose  the  day  on  which  we  cel- 


r,  ■ 


I 


APPENDIX. 


231 


ebrate  the  festival  of  the  annunciation  of  the  most  Holy 
Virgin.  The  moment  after  she  had  received  our  Lord  in 
the  holy  communion,  she  pronounced  with  admirable  fer- 
vor the  vow  she  had  made  of  perpetual  virginity.  She 
then  addressed  the  Holy  Virgin,  for  whom  she  had  a  most 
tender  devotion,  praying  her  to  present  to  her  son  the  ob- 
lation of  herself  which  she  had  just  made  ;  after  which 
she  passed  some  hours  at  the  foot  of  the  altar  in  holy  med- 
itation and  in  perfect  union  with  God. 

From  that  time  Catharine  seemed  to  be  entirely  divorced 
from  this  world ;  and  she  aspired  continually  to  heaven, 
where  she  had  fixed  all  her  desires.  She  seemed  even  to 
taste  in  anticipation  the  sweetness  of  that  heavenly  state ; 
but  her  body  was  not  sutficiently  strong  to  sustain  the 
weight  of  her  austerities,  and  the  constant  effort  of  her 
spirit  to  maintain  itself  in  the  presence  of  God.  She  was  • 
at  length  seized  with  a  violent  illness,  from  which  she  nev- 
er entirely  recovered.  There  always  remained  an  affec- 
tion of  the  stomach,  accompanied  by  frequent  vomiting, 
and  a  slow  fever,  which  undermined  her  constitution  by 
degrees,  and  threw  her  into  a  weakness  which  insensibly 
wasted  her  away.  It  was,  however,  evident  that  her  soul 
acquired  new  strength  in  proportion  as  her  body  decayed. 
The  nearer  she  approached  the  termination  of  her  career, 
the  more  clearly  she  shone  forth  in  all  those  virtues  which 
she  had  practised  with  so  much  edification.  But  I  need 
not  stop  here  to  particularize  them  to  you,  except  to  men- 
tion a  few  of  those  which  made  the  most  impression  and 
were  the  source  and  spring  of  all  the  others. 

She  had.  a  most  tender  love  for  God.  Her  only  pleasure 
seemed  to  be,  to  keep  herself  in  contemplation  in  his  pres- 
ence, to  meditate  on  his  majesty  and  mercy,  to  sing  hia 


\i 


232 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY  OP  AMERICA. 


praises,  and  continually  to  desire  new  ways  of  pleasing 
him.  It  was  i)rincipally  to  prevent  distraction  from  other 
thoughts  that  she  so  often  withdrew  into  solitude.  Anaa- 
tasia  and  Therese  were  the  only  two  Christians  with  whom 
she  wished  much  to  associate,  because  they  talked  most  of  , 
God,  and  their  conversations  breathed  nothing  but  divine 
love. 

From  thence  arc-"  the  peculiar  devotion  she  had  lor 
the  holy  eucharist  and  the  passion  of  our  Savior. 
These  two  mysteries  of  the  love  of  the  same  God,  con- 
cealed under  the  veil  of  the  eucharist  and  his  dying  on 
the  cross,  ceaselessly  occupied  her  spirit,  and  kindled  in 
her  heart  the  purest  flames  of  love.  Every  day  she  was 
seen  to  pass  whole  hours  at  the  foot  of  the  altar,  immova- 
ble, as  if  transported  beyond  herself.  Her  eyes  often  ex- 
plained the  sentiments  of  her  breast  by  the  abundance  of 
tears  she  shed ;  and  in  these  tears  she  found  so  great  de- 
light that  she  was,  as  it  were,  insensible  to  the  most  severe 
cold  of  winter.  Often,  seeing  her  benumbed  with  cold,  I  . 
have  sent  her  to  the  cabin  to  warm  herself.  She  obeyed 
immediately,  but  the  moment  after  returned  to  the  church, 
and  continued  there  in  long  communion  with  Jesus  Christ. 

To  keep  alive  her  devotion  for  the  mystery  of  our  Sa- 
vior's passion,  and  to  have  it  always  present  to  her  mind, 
she  carried  on  her  breast  a  little  crucifix  which  I  had  giv- 
en her.  She  often  kissed  it  with  feelings  of  the  most  ten- 
der compassion  for  the  suffering  Jesus,  and  with  the  most 
vivid  remembrance  of  the  benefits  of  our  redemption. 
One  day,  wishing  particularly  to  honor  Jesus  Christ  in  this 
double  mystery  of  his  love,  after  having  received  the 
holy  communion,  she  made  a  perpetual  oblation  of  her 
eoul  to  Jesu^  in  the  eucharist,  and  of  her  body  to  Jesua 


APPENDIX. 


233 


attached  to  the  cross  ;  aud  thencefortli  she  was  ingenious 
to  imagine  every  day  new  ways  of  afllictiug  and  crucilying 
her  flesh. 

During  the  winter,  Avhile  she  was  in  the  forest  with  her 
companions,  she  would  follow  them  at  a  distance,  taking 
off  lier  shoes  and  walking  with  her  naked  feet  over  the 
ice  and  snow.  Having  heard  Anastasia  say  that  of  all 
torments  that  of  fire  was  the  most  frightful,  and  that  the 
constancy  of  the  martyrs  who  had  suffered  this  torture 
would  be  a  great  merit  with  the  Lord,  the  following  night 
she  burned  her  feet  and  limbs  with  a  hot  brand,  very  much 
in  the  same  way  that  the  Indians  mark  their  slaves,  per- 
suading herself  that  by  this  action  she  had  declared  her- 
self the  slave  of  her  Savior.  At  another  time  she  strewed 
the  mat  on  which  she  slept  with  large  thorns,  the  points 
of  which  were  very  sharp ;  and,  aftc  the  example  of  the 
holy  and  thrice  happy  St.  Louis  de  Gonzague,  she  rolled 
herself  for  three  nights  in  succession  on  these  thorns, 
which  caused  her  the  most  intense  pain.  In  consequence 
of  these  things  her  countenance  was  entirely  wasted  and 
pale,  which  those  around  her  attributed  to  illness.  But 
Therese,  the  companion  whom  she  had  taken  so  much  into 
her  confidence,  having  discovered  the  reason  of  this  ex- 
traordinaiy  paleness,  aroused  her  scruples  by  declaring  that 
she  might  offend  God  if  she  inflicted  such  austerities  on 
herself  without  the  permission  of  her  confessor.  Catha- 
rine, who  trembled  at  the  very  appearance  of  sin,  came 
immediately  to  find  me,  to  confess  her  fault  and  demand 
pardon  of  God.  I  blamed  her  indiscretion,  and  directed 
her  to  throw  the  thorns  into  the  fire.  She  did  so  imme- 
diately, for  she  had  an  implicit  submission  to  the  judgment 
of  those  who  directed  her  conscience ;  and,  enlightened  as 

20* 


f! 


5 


^ 


234 


CATHOLIC    HISTORY   OP  AMERICA. 


\-: 


she  was  by  that  illumination  with  which  God  favored  her, 
she  never  nianit'estod  the  least  attachment  to  her  own  will. 

Her  patience  was  the  proof  of  all  her  acquirements.  In 
the  midst  of  her  continual  infirmities  she  always  preserved 
a  peace  and  serenity  of  spirit  which  charmed  us.  She 
never  forgot  herself,  either  to  utter  a  complaint  or  give 
the  slightest  sign  of  impatience.  During  the  last  two 
months  of  her  life  her  sufferings  were  extraordinary.  She 
was  obliged  to  remain  night  and  day  in  the  same  position, 
and  the  least  movement  caused  her  the  most  intense  pain. 
But  when  these  pains  were  felt  with  the  greatest  severity, 
then  she  seciued  most  content,  esteeming  herself  happy, 
as  she  herself  said,  to  live  and  die  on  the  cross,  uniting  her 
sufferings  to  those  of  her  Savior. 

As  she  was  full  of  faith,  she  had  a  high  idea  of  every 
thing  relating  to  religion  ;  and  this  inspired  her  with  a  par- 
ticular respect  for  those  whom  God  called  to  the  holy 
ministry.  Her  hope  was  firm,  her  love  disinterested,  serv- 
ing God  for  the  sake  of  God  himself,  and  influenced  only 
by  the  desire  to  please  him.  Her  devotion  was  tender 
even  to  tears  ;  her  communion  with  God  intimate  and  un- 
interrupted, never  losing  sight  of  him  in  all  her  actions ; 
and  it  was  this  which  raised  her  in  so  short  a  time  to  so 
sublime  a  state  of  piety. 

In  short,  there  was  nothing  more  remarkable  in  Catha- 
rine than  this  angelical  purity,  of  which  she  Avas  so  jealous, 
ana  which  she  preserved  even  to  her  latest  breath.  It 
was,  indeed,  a  miracle  of  grace  that  a  young  Iroquois 
should  have  had  so  strong  an  attachment  to  a  virtue  so 
little  known  in  her  own  country,  and  that. she  should  have 
lived  in  such  innocence  of  life  during  twenty  years  that 
she  remained  in  the  very  midst  of  licentiousness  and  dis- 


I  I 


APPENDIX. 


235 


solutencss.  It  was  this  love  of  purity  wliirh  iirodiiond  in 
her  heart  so  tender  an  alleetlon  tor  th(!  (^iicen  of  Virginsi. 
Catharine  could  never  s[)eak  of  Our  Lady  but  with  trans- 
port. She  had  learned  by  heart  her  litanies,  and  recited 
them  all,  particularly  in  the  evening,  after  the  common 
prayers  of  the  cabin.  She  always  carried  with  her  a 
rosary,  which  she  recited  many  times  in  the  course  of  the 
day.  The  Saturdays  and  other  days  which  are  particu- 
larly consecrated  to  her  honor  she  devoted  to  extraordi- 
nary austerities,  and  devoted  herself  to  the  practical  imita- 
tion of  some  of  her  virtues.  She  redoubled  her  fervor 
when  they  celebrated  one  of  these  festivals ;  and  she  se- 
lected such  holydays  to  offer  to  God  some  new  sacrifice,  or 
to  renew  those  which  she  had  already  made. 

It  was  to  be  expected  that  so  holy  a  life  would  be  fol- 
lowed by  a  most  happy  death ;  and  so  it  was  in  the  last 
moments  of  her  life  that  she  edified  us  most  by  the  prac- 
tise of  her  virtues,  arid  above  all  by  her  patience  and  union 
with  God.  She  found  herself  very  ill  towards  the  time  that 
the  men  are  accustomed  to  go  out  to  the  hunting  grounds 
in  the  forest,  and  when  the  females  are  occupied  from 
morning  even  till  evening  in  the  fields.  Those  who  are  ill 
are  therefore  obliged  to  remain  alone  through  the  whole 
day  in  their  cabins,  a  plate  of  Indian  corn  and  a  little 
water  having  in  the  morning  been  placed  near  their  mat. 
It  was  in  this  abandonment  that  Catharine  passed  all  the 
time  of  her  last  illness.  But  what  would  have  overwhelmed 
another  person  with  sadness,  contributed  rather  to  in- 
crease her  joy,  by  furnishing  her  with  something  to  increase 
her  merit.  Accustomed  to  commune  alone  with  God,  she 
turned  this  solitude  to  her  profit,  and  made  it  serve  to 
attach  her  more  to  her  Creator  by  her  prayers  and  fervent 
meditations. 


7  ' 

230  CATirOMC   IIIRTOHY  OP   AMERICA. 


Nt'verlhclcss,  J)»o  tiino  of  licr  last  slrn^jih'  Mpprojiclicd, 
and  her  stroM;j;tli  oncli  day  diiniiiislu'd.  She  failed  con- 
siderably during  the  Tuesday  of  Holy  week;  and  1  there- 
fore thought  it  well  to  administer  to  her  the  holy  coui- 
munion,  whieh  idio  reeeived  with  her  usual  feelings  of 
devotion.  I  wished  also  at  the  same  time  to  give  her 
extreme  unetion  ;  hut  she  told  me  there  was  as  yet  no 
pressing  neeessity ;  and  from  what  she  saitl,  I  thought  I 
would  defer  it  till  the  next  morning.  The  rest  of  that  day 
and  the  following  night  she  passed  in  fervent  communion 
with  our  Lord  and  the  Holy  Virgin.  On  Wednesday 
morning  she  received  extreme  unetion  with  the  same 
feelings  of  devotion;  and  at  three  hours  after  midday, 
after  having  pronounced  the  holy  names  of  Jesu3  and 
Maky,  a  slight  si)asm  came  on,  when  she  jntirely  lost  the 
power  of  speech.  As  she  preserved  a  perfect  conscious- 
ness even  to  her  last  breath,  I  perceived  that  she  was 
striving  to  perform  inwardly  all  the  acts  which  I  suggested 
to  her.  After  a  short  half  hour  of  agony  she  peaceably 
expired,  as  if  she  was  only  falling  into  a  sweet  sleep. 

Thus  died  Catharine  Tegahkouita  in  the  twenty-fourth 
year  of  her  age,  having  filled  the  mission  with  the  odor  of 
her  sanctity  and  the  character  of  holiness  which  she  left 
behind  her.  Her  countenance,  which  had  been  extremely 
attenuated  by  the  maladies  and  constant  austerities,  ap- 
peared so  changed  and  pleasant  some  moments  after  her 
death  that  the  Indians  who  were  present  were  not  able  to 
restrain  the  expression  of  their  astonishment,  and  declared 
that  a  beam  of  that  glory  she  had  gone  to  possess  was 
even  reflected  back  on  her  body.  Two  Frenchmen,  who 
had  come  from  the  prairie  of  the  Madeleine  to  assist  in 
the  services  of  Thursday  morning,  seeing  her  extended  on 


AITRNDIX. 


237 


licr  mat,  with  hor  countenance  so  fresh  and  sweet,  said  one 
to  the  otlier,  "  Sco  how  jieiicciihly  that  }'onn;^  f'enialo 
sU'cps!"  IJut  they  were  wvy  much  sur[>ri.->ed  wh<'n  they 
learned  a  moiniint  after  that  it  was  the.  hody  ol'  Catlia- 
rinc,  who  had  just  expired.  Tiiey  iininedialely  retraced 
their  steps,  and,  casting  tlieinselvi's  on  their  knees  at  her 
feet,  recommended  themselves  to  her  pr.iyers.  They  even 
wished  to  give  a  puhlic  evidence  of  the  veneration  they 
had  for  the  deceased  hy  imme<liately  assisting  to  make  tlie 
cotlln  which  was  to  enclose  those  holy  relics. 

I  make  us(!  of  this  expression,  my  reverend  father, 
with  the  greater  confidence,  because  (Jod  did  not  delay  to 
honor  the  memory  of  this  virtuous  girl  by  an  inlinite  num- 
ber of  miraculous  cures,  which  took  place  after  her  death, 
and  which  continue  to  take  place  daily  through  her  inter- 
cession. This  is  a  fact  well  known,  not  oiily  to  the  Indians, 
but  also  to  the  French  at  Quebec  and  Montreal,  who 
often  make  pilgrimages  to  her  tomb  to  fuUil  their  vows,  or 
to  return  thanks  for  favors  which  she  ha8  obtained  for 
them  in  heaven.  I  could  here  relate  to  you  a  great  num- 
ber of  these  miraculous  cures,  Avhich  have  been  attested 
by  individuals  the  most  enlightened,  and  whose  probity  is 
above  suspicion ;  but  I  will  content  myself  with  making 
you  acquainted  with  the  testimony  of  two  persons  remark- 
able for  virtue  and  nvcrit,  who,  having  themselves  proved 
the  power  of  this  sainted  female  with  God,  felt  they  were 
bound  to  leave  a  public  monument  for  posterity,  to  satisfy 
at  the  same  time  their  piety  and  their  gratitude.  ; 

The  first  testimonial  is  that  of  M.  de  la  Colombiere, 
canon  of  the  Cathedral  of  Quebec,  grand  vicar  of  the 
diocese.     lie  expresses  himself  in  these  terms  :  — 


y , 


238 


CATHOLIC   HISTORY   OF  AMERICA. 


Having  been  ill  at  Quebec  during  the  past  year,  from 
the  month  of  January  even  to  the  month  of  June,  of  a  slow 
fever,  against  wliicli  all  remedies  had  been  tried  in  vain, 
and  of  a  diarrhoea,  which  even  ipecacuana  could  not  cure, 
it  was  thought  well  to  record  a  vow,  in  case  it  should 
please  God  to  relieve  me  of  these  two  maladies,  to  make  a 
pilgrimage  to  the  mission  of  St.  Francis  Xavier,  to  pray 
at  the  tomb  of  Catharine  Tegahkouita.  On  the  very  same 
day  the  fever  ceased ;  and  the  diarrhoea  having  become 
better,  I  embarked  some  days  afterwards  to  fulfil  my  vow. 
Scarcely  had  I  accomplished  one  third  of  my  journey 
when  I  found  myself  perfectly  cured.  As  my  health  is 
something  so  very  useless  that  I  should  not  have  dared 
to  ask  for  it,  if  I  had  not  felt  myself  obliged  to  do  so  by  the 
deference  which  I  ought  to  have  for  the  servants  of  the 
Lord,  it  is  impossible  reasonably  to  withhold  the  belief 
that  God,  in  according  to  me  this  grace,  had  no  other  view 
than  to  make  known  the  credit  which  this  excellent  maiden 
had  with  him.  For  myself,  I  should  fear  that  I  was  un- 
justly withholding  the  truth,  and  refusing  to  the  missions  of 
Canada  the  glory  which  is  due  to  them,  if  I  did  not  testify, 
as  I  have  now  done,  that  I  am  a  debtor  for  my  cure  to 
this  Iroquois  virgin.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  I  have  given 
the  present  attestation,  with  every  sentiment  of  gratitude 
of  which  I  am  capable,  to  increase,  as  far  as  is  in  my 
power,  the  confidence  which  is  felt  in  my  benefactress,  but 
still  more  to  excite  the  desire  to  imitate  her  virtues. 

Given  at  Villemarie,  the  14th  of  September,  1696. 

J.  DE    LA    COLOMBIERE,  P.  J., 

Canon  of  the  Cathedral  of  Quebec. 


The  second  testimonial  is  from  M.  du  Luth,  captain  in 


APPENDIX. 


239 


the  marine  corps,  and  commander  of  Fort  Frontinac. 
is  thus  that  he  speaks :  — 


It 


I,  the  subscriber,  certify  to  all  whom  it  may  concern, 
that,  having  been  tormented  by  the  gout  for  the  space  of 
twenty-three  years,  and  with  such  severe  pains  that  it 
gave  me  no  rest  for  the  space  of  three  months  at  a  time,  I 
addressed  myself  to  Catharine  Tegahkouita,  an  Iroquois 
virgin,  deceased  at  the  Sault  St.  Louis  in  the  reputation 
of  sanctity ;  and  I  promised  her  to  visit  her  tomb,  if  God 
should  give  me  health  through  her  intercession.  I  have 
been  so  perfectly  cured,  at  the  end  of  one  novena  *  which 
I  made  in  her  honor,  that  after  five  months  I  have  not 
perceived  the  slightest  touch  of  my  gout. 

Given  at  Fort  Frontinac,  this  15th  of  August,  1696. 

J.  DU    LUTII, 

Captain  of  the  marine  corps. 
Commander  of  Fort  Frontinac. 


i^ 


I  have  thought  that  a  narrative  of  the  virtues  of  this 
holy  female,  born  thus  in  the  midst  of  heathenism  and 
among  savages,  would  serve  to  edify  those  who,  having 
been  born  in  the  bosom  of  Christianity,  have  also  every 
possible  aid  in  raising  themselves  to  the  height  of  holiness. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  &;c. 


*  A  novena  is  a  course  of  devotional  services  extending  through 
nine  days. 


